Head-to-head water quality

Fort Worth, TX vs Houston, TX

Side-by-side water quality comparison: Fort Worth (Grade F) vs Houston (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

Fort Worth

Houston

Better

Violations subscore / 45

0.0

Tie

Lead/Copper subscore / 20

18.0

16.0

Fort Worth

Contaminant subscore / 20

7.5

2.8

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

Fort Worth

Houston

Better

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

0.0 µg/L

Houston

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

—

1.5 mg/L

Houston

PFAS — "forever chemicals"

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

Factor

Fort Worth

Houston

Better

PFAS analytes detected

8 of 30

10 of 30

Fort Worth

PFAS exceeds federal MCL

Yes

Tie

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

3.90

3.42

Houston

Violation history

SDWA enforcement actions — fewer is better.

Factor

Fort Worth

Houston

Better

Violations (last 5 years)

144

2,071

Fort Worth

Health-based violations (total)

929

Fort Worth

Unresolved violations

221

3,572

Fort Worth

Other contaminants tested

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

Factor

Fort Worth

Houston

Better

Chromium-6 (max)

0.14 µg/L

6.66 µg/L

Fort Worth

HAA5 (avg)

5.56 µg/L

18.35 µg/L

Fort Worth

Manganese (max)

4.19 µg/L

158.90 µg/L

Fort Worth

Strontium (max)

330.00 µg/L

948.00 µg/L

Fort Worth

1,4-Dioxane (max)

—

1.15 µg/L

Houston

NDMA (max)

6.00 ng/L

43.30 ng/L

Fort Worth

Vanadium (max)

1.60 µg/L

16.00 µg/L

Fort Worth

Chlorate (max)

720.00 µg/L

13600.00 µg/L

Fort Worth

Molybdenum (max)

2.50 µg/L

12.60 µg/L

Fort Worth

Industrial proximity

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

Factor

Fort Worth

Houston

Better

Superfund sites within 10 mi

Fort Worth

TRI lbs to surface water within 10 mi (2023)

1,369

1,981,876

Fort Worth

System size & source

Factor

Fort Worth

Houston

Population served

964K

5.9M

—

Water source

Surface water

—

Number of water systems

719

—

See the full reports

Full report

Fort Worth, TX water quality

Grade F · 964K served

Full report

Houston, TX water quality

Grade F · 5.9M served

All cities in Texas →

Frequently asked

Which has better water — Fort Worth or Houston?

Fort Worth, TX scores higher (34.5 vs 27.8) on WaterVerge's 100-point methodology, earning a Grade F compared to Houston'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.