Head-to-head water quality

Austin, TX vs Fort Worth, TX

Side-by-side water quality comparison: Austin (Grade F) vs Fort Worth (Grade F). Lead, PFAS, violations, and source-water contamination

Score breakdown

Each factor is shown as raw points (out of the maximum). Higher = better.

Factor

Austin

Fort Worth

Better

Violations subscore / 45

0.0

Tie

Lead/Copper subscore / 20

16.0

18.0

Fort Worth

Contaminant subscore / 20

6.2

7.5

Fort Worth

Compliance subscore / 10

5.0

Tie

Source subscore / 5

4.0

Tie

Lead & copper at the tap

Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) 90th-percentile readings — the value that 10% of sampled homes exceed.

Factor

Austin

Fort Worth

Better

Lead 90th-percentile (latest) · EPA action level: 15 µg/L

0.0 µg/L

Austin

Copper 90th-percentile (latest) · EPA action level: 1.3 mg/L

2.4 mg/L

—

Austin

PFAS — "forever chemicals"

UCMR 5 testing, 2023–2025. Federal MCLs: PFOA + PFOS = 4 ng/L; HFPO-DA = 10 ng/L.

Factor

Austin

Fort Worth

Better

PFAS analytes detected

10 of 30

8 of 30

Fort Worth

PFAS exceeds federal MCL

Yes

Tie

PFAS hazard index · Sum of (max/MCL) across detected analytes; > 1 indicates exceedance

1.88

3.90

Austin

Violation history

SDWA enforcement actions — fewer is better.

Factor

Austin

Fort Worth

Better

Violations (last 5 years)

2,254

144

Fort Worth

Health-based violations (total)

1,288

Fort Worth

Unresolved violations

2,515

221

Fort Worth

Other contaminants tested

UCMR rounds 1–4 + UCMR 5 lithium. Maxima where data exists; "—" means not tested.

Factor

Austin

Fort Worth

Better

Chromium-6 (max)

4.01 µg/L

0.14 µg/L

Fort Worth

HAA5 (avg)

11.12 µg/L

5.56 µg/L

Fort Worth

Manganese (max)

72.00 µg/L

4.19 µg/L

Fort Worth

Strontium (max)

2020.00 µg/L

330.00 µg/L

Fort Worth

NDMA (max)

48.04 ng/L

6.00 ng/L

Fort Worth

Vanadium (max)

5.25 µg/L

1.60 µg/L

Fort Worth

Chlorate (max)

4510.00 µg/L

720.00 µg/L

Fort Worth

Molybdenum (max)

59.40 µg/L

2.50 µg/L

Fort Worth

Industrial proximity

Superfund National Priorities List + Toxic Release Inventory facilities within 10 miles of the city centroid.

Factor

Austin

Fort Worth

Better

Superfund sites within 10 mi

Austin

TRI lbs to surface water within 10 mi (2023)

1,369

Austin

System size & source

Factor

Austin

Fort Worth

Population served

1.8M

964K

—

Water source

Surface water

—

Number of water systems

621

—

See the full reports

Full report

Austin, TX water quality

Grade F · 1.8M served

Full report

Fort Worth, TX water quality

Grade F · 964K served

All cities in Texas →

Frequently asked

Which has better water — Austin or Fort Worth?

Fort Worth, TX scores higher (34.5 vs 31.2) on WaterVerge's 100-point methodology, earning a Grade F compared to Austin's Grade F. The score combines violation history, lead and copper levels, contaminant testing, monitoring compliance, and source-water type.

How is the WaterVerge water quality score calculated?

The grade combines five subscores: violation history (45 pts, weighted by recency and health-based severity), lead/copper 90th-percentile vs EPA action levels (20 pts), contaminant testing including PFAS, chromium-6, HAA5, NDMA, perchlorate, and Superfund/TRI proximity (20 pts), monitoring compliance (10 pts), and water-source-type risk (5 pts). Full methodology at /about/methodology.

Where does this water quality data come from?

From the EPA's public records: the SDWIS bulk download (violations + system info), UCMR rounds 1–5 (unregulated contaminant testing including PFAS, chromium-6, HAA5, NDMA, perchlorate, vanadium, lithium), the EPA Toxic Release Inventory (industrial polluters), the Superfund National Priorities List, the USGS Powell Domestic-Well Database (private-well chemistry), and the CDC Community Water Fluoridation system. Data is refreshed quarterly.