Water Treatment · Fort Bend & West Houston

Water by community: Fort Bend & West Houston

Water in Fort Bend County and west Houston is not one profile. Cities and municipal utility districts draw on different wells and surface-water sources, use different disinfectants, and publish different levels of detail in their annual reports. This page summarizes only what those public reports say, with links. Where a hardness, iron, or other number is not published, we say so and recommend a free mailed water test of your own tap.

Cess Water Solutions team

Cess Water Solutions installs water softeners, whole-home carbon filtration, and reverse osmosis for homes within 35 miles of Richmond, TX, including Richmond, Rosenberg, Sugar Land, Katy, Fulshear, Missouri City, Stafford, Needville, Pecan Grove, and Houston. Start with a free mailed water test, or open your city’s page below. The mailed test is free; booking takes a $20 deposit, credited toward your system when installed.

Richmond

The City of Richmond says its drinking water comes from groundwater wells in the Gulf Coast Aquifer, 480 to 1,000 feet deep. The City lists its water hardness at 9.76 grains per gallon (167 mg/L), which it classifies as hard. The City switched its disinfectant from chlorine to chloramine in September 2017. Some addresses with a Richmond mailing address are served by a MUD rather than the City system; the City notes that its main system reports also cover certain MUDs, and other neighborhoods publish their own reports.

Hardness at 9.76 grains per gallon is high enough that many homes see scale and spotting, but your tap can still differ if you are not on the City system. Richmond water treatment has the longer city page.

Rosenberg

The City of Rosenberg’s 2024 Water Quality Report lists groundwater from the Evangeline and Chicot aquifers and surface water purchased from the Brazosport Water Authority, drawn from the Brazos River. Some MUDs around Rosenberg buy water from the City, so their reports point back to the same sources. Rosenberg’s annual report does not publish a single hardness number, so the reliable way to know yours is to test it. See Rosenberg water treatment and the City’s source water page.

Sugar Land

The City’s Main System blends well water with treated surface water from Oyster Creek and the Brazos River. The City publishes hardness ranges by system: Main 35–280 ppm (2.0–16.4 grains per gallon), Greatwood 34–164 ppm, New Territory 50–186 ppm, and River Park 109–155 ppm. The Main System is disinfected with chloramine. The 2025 Water Quality Report lists an average chloramine residual of 2.74 ppm, under the 4 ppm limit. Those ranges are wide, which is why two Sugar Land homes can need different equipment. Details: Sugar Land water treatment.

Katy

The City of Katy (public water system #1010017) says its drinking water comes from groundwater, according to its 2023 Consumer Confidence Report. The City reports that it has held a Superior Water System rating for more than 30 years and posts reports at its annual water quality page. Many Katy-area neighborhoods, including parts of Cinco Ranch, are served by MUDs that publish their own reports, so there is not one hardness number for “Katy.” Test your tap, and see Katy water treatment.

Fulshear

The City of Fulshear publishes annual water quality reports, and many MUDs in the area publish their own. The Fort Bend Subsidence District regulates groundwater pumping, and the North Fort Bend Water Authority charges a fee on groundwater and surface water use to fund the shift toward surface water; the City explains that fee in its water FAQs. Because sources differ between the City and the various MUDs, there is not one hardness number for Fulshear. The same FAQ notes that rusty or discolored water is most often caused by water line work or a disturbance in the system. See Fulshear water treatment and our note on Cross Creek Ranch below.

Missouri City

The City’s Regional Water Treatment Plant treats Brazos River water, delivered through the Gulf Coast Water Authority’s Briscoe Canal, with membrane filtration, and supplies participating MUDs. The plant disinfects with chloramine. The 2024 South Service Area report lists an average chloramine residual of 2.48 ppm, under the 4 ppm limit. Some service areas, such as Mustang Bayou, are listed as groundwater only, so water differs across the city. Reports are collected at the City’s Consumer Confidence Report page. See Missouri City water treatment. Sienna-area districts that purchase Missouri City surface water are described below.

Houston (for comparison)

Houston Public Works says its system serves about 5.5 million people and draws on surface water (Trinity River / Lake Livingston and San Jacinto River / Lake Conroe and Lake Houston) plus groundwater from the Chicot and Evangeline aquifers. The 2025 Water Quality Report lists Main System total hardness from 43.5 to 229 mg/L, averaging 135.5 mg/L (roughly 2.5 to 13.4 grains per gallon, about 7.9 on average). The Main System is disinfected with chloramine. The same report lists Main System total dissolved solids from 146 to 331 mg/L, averaging 260 mg/L. Many homes with a Houston mailing address are still on a MUD. See Houston water treatment.

Master-planned communities

Community names are not utilities. Two sections of the same development can sit in different MUDs with different sources. Use the district on your bill, then read that district’s current CCR. Hardness is unverified in the reports below unless a number is stated; in those cases, we recommend the free mailed test.

Aliana (Richmond)

The Aliana Homeowners Association lists water service through Fort Bend County MUD 134B (Municipal District Services) and MUD 134C (Inframark). The Fort Bend County MUD 134B 2023 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report says drinking water is obtained from groundwater and surface water: groundwater from the lower Chicot aquifer via Fort Bend County MUD 134A, and surface water from the Trinity River via the North Fort Bend Water Authority. The same report lists a 2023 chloramine residual averaging 2.95 ppm, with a range of 0.80–3.90 ppm, under the 4 ppm limit. That report does not publish a single hardness or iron number for the district, so we will not invent one. If you live in MUD 134C, use that district’s current CCR, which may differ.

Harvest Green (Richmond)

Harvest Green’s official community site lists water service through Fort Bend County MUD 134D, 134E, and 134F, with Si Environmental as the operator for those districts. The MUD 134D 2023 Water Quality Report says the district receives groundwater from a well located within Fort Bend County MUD 134E. The 2023 report lists a chloramine residual averaging 1.66 ppm, with a range of 1.20–2.20 ppm, under the 4 ppm limit. Hardness and iron are not published as a single number in that report. Homes in 134E or 134F should use their own district’s current CCR.

Pecan Grove

Pecan Grove Municipal Utility District’s 2025 Water Quality Report says the district produces surface water from Oyster Creek as the primary source and also has three groundwater wells in Fort Bend County that draw from Gulf Coast aquifers. The 2025 report lists a free chlorine residual averaging 2.41 ppm, with a range of 0.80–4.90 ppm. That is a different disinfectant residual than the chloramine reported by several nearby city and MUD systems. The 2025 report does not publish a single hardness number, so the way to know yours is to test it. Board reports on the district site also describe a mix of surface water and groundwater from month to month, which is another reason a one-time neighborhood average would be a weak substitute for a tap test.

Cross Creek Ranch (Fulshear)

The official Cross Creek Ranch utilities page states that water is provided by the City of Fulshear. Use the City’s current Consumer Confidence Report and water FAQs. We did not find a City-published hardness number we could verify for this page, so hardness is treated as unverified here: it can vary, and a mailed test is the reliable measurement. The City’s FAQ is also the official guidance for sudden rusty or discolored water after line work.

Cinco Ranch (Katy)

Cinco Ranch is served by more than one Cinco MUD, so there is no single community water profile. As one official example, the Cinco MUD No. 3 2025 Drinking Water Quality Report says the source is purchased groundwater from Cinco MUD 1 from the Evangeline and Jasper aquifers, and lists a 2025 chlorine residual averaging 1.88 ppm (range 1.75–2.23 ppm). The same report lists manganese at 0.01 ppm in 2025 as an unregulated contaminant. It does not publish a hardness number. Other Cinco MUDs post reports through Cinco MUDs resources and Inframark. Check your bill for the district name, then read that report, or test your tap.

Sienna (Missouri City area)

Sienna is served by more than one district. The Sienna Regional Municipal Utility District No. 1 2025 Drinking Water Quality Report says drinking water is obtained from both groundwater and surface water: groundwater from the Evangeline aquifer, and surface water from the City of Missouri City, which provides water from the Brazos River in Fort Bend County. The 2025 report lists a chloramine residual averaging 2.04 ppm, with a range of 0.40–3.80 ppm, under the 4 ppm limit. An earlier Sienna Plantation Management District report describes the same pair of sources (Evangeline groundwater and Missouri City surface water). Neither report gave us a published hardness number to quote, so hardness is unverified here and should be measured at your tap. Missouri City’s own CCRs, linked above, describe the regional plant that supplies participating districts.

Riverstone (Sugar Land / Missouri City area)

Fort Bend County MUD 128’s official site states that the district is part of the approximately 3,700-acre Riverstone community and is one of four municipal utility districts that serve Riverstone. Because there are multiple districts, water can differ from one section to another. Fort Bend County MUD 115’s 2024 Water Quality Report says drinking water is obtained from groundwater sources in the Chicot aquifer, and also states that the district receives water from the City of Missouri City, whose source is the Brazos River in Fort Bend County. The 2024 report lists a chloramine residual averaging 2.72 ppm, with a range of 0.95–3.80 ppm, under the 4 ppm limit. Hardness is not published as a single number in that report. If you live in another Riverstone MUD, including MUD 128, use that district’s current CCR rather than assuming MUD 115’s profile.

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Related reading: What to look for in a water softener · RO vs. whole-home carbon · Rust stains in new communities · Is a mailed water test accurate enough? · Packages

City pages: Richmond · Rosenberg · Sugar Land · Katy · Fulshear · Missouri City · Houston

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