Strontium Contamination

Strontium in Texas Drinking Water

Ranked by max strontium detected (µg/L) · UCMR 3 data (2013–2015) · Data from EPA SDWIS & UCMR

282

Cities Tested

Over HRL

17%

% Over HRL

1332.5 µg/L

State Avg

▲ 11% vs national

vs National

900

Health Violations

Analysis

Strontium in Texas: what the data shows

Texas has 282 cities with strontium data from the EPA's UCMR 3 program (2013–2015). Strontium was detected above the 1,500 µg/L EPA health reference level in 48 of those cities. The state average max detected level is 1332.5 µg/L. Strontium occurs naturally in groundwater, particularly in areas with limestone and dolomite geology. It can also enter water from industrial waste and mining operations. There is no federal MCL for strontium, but the EPA established a health reference level (HRL) of 1,500 µg/L. Long-term exposure to strontium above the HRL may affect bone health, particularly in children, by substituting for calcium in developing bones. Reverse osmosis and ion exchange systems are effective at removing strontium from drinking water.

Comparison

Cities exceeding 1,500 µg/L EPA HRL (no MCL)

Texas

17%

48 of 282 cities

→ ▲ 11% above national rate (worse)

National avg

250 of 4371 cities

City Map

Strontium data across Texas

Each dot is a city with UCMR 3 strontium testing data. Cities where strontium exceeds the 1,500 µg/L EPA health reference level are highlighted. Size reflects population served.

Worst Offenders

Top 10 cities by strontium level in Texas

Highest Strontium levels (µg/L)

All Cities

All Texas cities ranked by strontium level

#	City	Level	Over HRL?	Violations	Grade
1	Niederwald	62000.0 µg/L	Over HRL	6	B-
2	Kyle	39800.0 µg/L	Over HRL	5	A-
3	Canyon Lake	21800.0 µg/L	Over HRL	39	F
4	Boerne	10800.0 µg/L	Over HRL	24	F
5	San Antonio	9800.0 µg/L	Over HRL	25	F
6	Kerrville	7120.0 µg/L	Over HRL	131	F
7	Progreso	5910.0 µg/L	Over HRL	52	D+
8	Midland	5600.0 µg/L	Over HRL	231	F
9	Kingsville	4440.0 µg/L	Over HRL	45	D+
10	Bastrop	4210.0 µg/L	Over HRL	31	F
11	White Settlement	3570.0 µg/L	Over HRL	13	C+
12	Alamo	3030.0 µg/L	Over HRL	7	B+
13	Robinson	3000.0 µg/L	Over HRL	2	A-
14	Odessa	2700.0 µg/L	Over HRL	225	F
15	Stamford	2691.2 µg/L	Over HRL	76	D
16	Jbsa Lackland	2680.0 µg/L	Over HRL	4	B+
17	Big Spring	2650.0 µg/L	Over HRL	48	F
18	Benbrook	2460.0 µg/L	Over HRL	0	B
19	Brownsville	2430.0 µg/L	Over HRL	5	C+
20	Euless	2390.0 µg/L	Over HRL	1	A-
21	Mcallen	2370.0 µg/L	Over HRL	0	A
22	Snyder	2270.0 µg/L	Over HRL	12	B-
23	San Angelo	2200.0 µg/L	Over HRL	40	F
24	El Paso	2100.0 µg/L	Over HRL	192	F
25	Mercedes	2100.0 µg/L	Over HRL	22	F
26	San Juan	2080.0 µg/L	Over HRL	4	B+
27	Mc Gregor	2050.0 µg/L	Over HRL	5	C-
28	Horizon City	2030.0 µg/L	Over HRL	1	A
29	Austin	2020.0 µg/L	Over HRL	1288	F
30	Elsa	2000.0 µg/L	Over HRL	5	B-
31	Pleasanton	1960.0 µg/L	Over HRL	7	B+
32	Levelland	1940.0 µg/L	Over HRL	168	F
33	Weslaco	1850.0 µg/L	Over HRL	2	C+
34	Mission	1800.0 µg/L	Over HRL	23	C-
35	Donna	1800.0 µg/L	Over HRL	6	B
36	Edinburg	1730.0 µg/L	Over HRL	12	C-
37	Universal City	1730.0 µg/L	Over HRL	0	B+
38	Converse	1660.0 µg/L	Over HRL	1	A
39	Port Isabel	1630.0 µg/L	Over HRL	24	B+
40	San Benito	1600.0 µg/L	Over HRL	16	B+
41	Pampa	1600.0 µg/L	Over HRL	7	B
42	Zapata	1590.0 µg/L	Over HRL	75	D
43	Navasota	1550.0 µg/L	Over HRL	6	F
44	Hereford	1550.0 µg/L	Over HRL	13	F
45	Rio Grande	1540.0 µg/L	Over HRL	6	B
46	Harlingen	1530.0 µg/L	Over HRL	1	C
47	Pharr	1530.0 µg/L	Over HRL	0	A-
48	Adkins	1510.0 µg/L	Over HRL	2	A-
49	Sweetwater	1460.0 µg/L	No	8	B
50	Canyon	1450.0 µg/L	No	5	F
51	Fredericksburg	1440.0 µg/L	No	129	D
52	Fort Stockton	1438.4 µg/L	No	54	D
53	Tyler	1400.0 µg/L	No	53	F
54	Burleson	1380.0 µg/L	No	9	B+
55	Plainview	1360.0 µg/L	No	25	F
56	Robstown	1330.0 µg/L	No	31	F
57	Abilene	1310.3 µg/L	No	46	F
58	Coupland	1310.0 µg/L	No	6	C
59	Lubbock	1300.0 µg/L	No	1231	F
60	Rio Hondo	1290.0 µg/L	No	70	F
61	Roma	1290.0 µg/L	No	40	F
62	Eagle Pass	1250.0 µg/L	No	45	D+
63	Laredo	1220.0 µg/L	No	111	F
64	Post	1220.0 µg/L	No	28	F
65	Borger	1210.0 µg/L	No	1	C-
66	Denison	1200.0 µg/L	No	24	F
67	Friona	1190.0 µg/L	No	10	B
68	Amarillo	1180.0 µg/L	No	26	F
69	Kempner	1150.0 µg/L	No	19	B-
70	Hewitt	1130.0 µg/L	No	4	A-
71	Clint	1110.0 µg/L	No	2	B
72	Dumas	1100.0 µg/L	No	6	C+
73	Friendswood	1040.0 µg/L	No	0	B+
74	Round Rock	1020.0 µg/L	No	17	F
75	Montague	992.0 µg/L	No	5	D
76	Georgetown	980.0 µg/L	No	3	F
77	Conroe	960.0 µg/L	No	54	F
78	Houston	948.0 µg/L	No	929	F
79	Stephenville	910.0 µg/L	No	39	F
80	Richardson	906.0 µg/L	No	30	F
81	Greenville	895.0 µg/L	No	8	C
82	Wylie	895.0 µg/L	No	2	B-
83	Wharton	869.0 µg/L	No	1	D
84	Hutto	868.0 µg/L	No	17	B
85	Allen	866.0 µg/L	No	0	A-
86	Little Elm	852.0 µg/L	No	2	C
87	Grandview	850.0 µg/L	No	0	B+
88	Mckinney	840.0 µg/L	No	0	A-
89	Murphy	839.0 µg/L	No	0	B+
90	Frisco	833.0 µg/L	No	3	B
91	Lockhart	833.0 µg/L	No	0	A-
92	Coldspring	833.0 µg/L	No	1	B
93	Mesquite	830.0 µg/L	No	0	B+
94	The Colony	830.0 µg/L	No	2	A-
95	New Baden	830.0 µg/L	No	1	A
96	Garland	826.0 µg/L	No	0	A-
97	Damon	822.7 µg/L	No	3	C
98	San Marcos	800.0 µg/L	No	56	C-
99	Plano	792.8 µg/L	No	5	A-
100	Bay City	773.0 µg/L	No	14	F
101	Fate	762.3 µg/L	No	0	B
102	West Columbia	762.0 µg/L	No	2	C+
103	Beeville	732.0 µg/L	No	46	F
104	El Campo	724.0 µg/L	No	19	F
105	Garden Ridge	700.0 µg/L	No	0	A-
106	Royse City	695.0 µg/L	No	6	C+
107	Menard	695.0 µg/L	No	1	A-
108	Joshua	686.0 µg/L	No	2	C-
109	Port Lavaca	678.0 µg/L	No	47	F
110	Bellmead	668.0 µg/L	No	3	B-
111	Red Oak	665.0 µg/L	No	10	B+
112	Katy	656.0 µg/L	No	46	F
113	Sachse	653.0 µg/L	No	1	A
114	Rowlett	651.0 µg/L	No	0	A-
115	Midlothian	650.0 µg/L	No	12	B
116	Parker	650.0 µg/L	No	0	A-
117	Marion	643.0 µg/L	No	2	B-
118	Rockwall	629.0 µg/L	No	4	D
119	Sugar Land	620.0 µg/L	No	4	F
120	New Braunfels	619.0 µg/L	No	15	D
121	Alice	618.0 µg/L	No	103	F
122	Three Rivers	606.0 µg/L	No	19	B+
123	Lake Jackson	604.0 µg/L	No	6	D
124	Seguin	590.0 µg/L	No	42	F
125	Lake Dallas	580.0 µg/L	No	2	B-
126	Humble	580.0 µg/L	No	1	B+
127	Waxahachie	565.0 µg/L	No	70	D+
128	Portland	560.0 µg/L	No	2	B+
129	Sherman	552.0 µg/L	No	2	B+
130	Waco	548.0 µg/L	No	53	F
131	Pflugerville	543.0 µg/L	No	19	C+
132	West University Place	542.0 µg/L	No	2	B+
133	Rosenberg	540.0 µg/L	No	1	C-
134	Pearland	539.0 µg/L	No	14	F
135	Ennis	538.0 µg/L	No	2	A-
136	Corsicana	536.0 µg/L	No	30	F
137	Brownwood	534.0 µg/L	No	12	A-
138	Texas City	530.0 µg/L	No	4	B
139	Stafford	530.0 µg/L	No	1	A-
140	Lumberton	530.0 µg/L	No	0	B+
141	Angleton	522.0 µg/L	No	47	F
142	La Marque	520.0 µg/L	No	3	B
143	Alvin	517.3 µg/L	No	37	F
144	Cedar Hill	513.0 µg/L	No	4	A-
145	Victoria	509.1 µg/L	No	28	F
146	Grand Prairie	505.0 µg/L	No	10	F
147	Uvalde	502.0 µg/L	No	0	D
148	Missouri City	494.0 µg/L	No	6	F
149	Richmond	487.0 µg/L	No	3	F
150	Huntsville	486.0 µg/L	No	128	F
151	Del Rio	479.0 µg/L	No	117	F
152	Freeport	478.0 µg/L	No	209	F
153	Desoto	470.0 µg/L	No	2	A-
154	Holliday	470.0 µg/L	No	4	B+
155	Seagoville	465.0 µg/L	No	7	B
156	Glenn Heights	461.0 µg/L	No	3	C-
157	Irving	460.0 µg/L	No	9	C
158	Dallas	456.0 µg/L	No	102	F
159	Ingleside	452.0 µg/L	No	3	D+
160	Forney	451.0 µg/L	No	10	B-
161	Crowley	445.0 µg/L	No	2	C+
162	League City	443.0 µg/L	No	67	F
163	Orange	441.0 µg/L	No	10	C-
164	Brenham	439.0 µg/L	No	20	F
165	Cypress	438.0 µg/L	No	624	F
166	Dickinson	436.0 µg/L	No	8	F
167	Rockport	434.0 µg/L	No	20	B-
168	Balch Springs	432.0 µg/L	No	8	B
169	Cedar Park	430.0 µg/L	No	8	B-
170	Granbury	427.0 µg/L	No	28	F
171	Galveston	426.0 µg/L	No	2	B+
172	Taylor	423.0 µg/L	No	6	A-
173	Cleveland	421.0 µg/L	No	4	C-
174	Santa Fe	420.0 µg/L	No	25	F
175	De Leon	418.0 µg/L	No	45	F
176	Vernon	410.0 µg/L	No	163	D
177	Burkburnett	410.0 µg/L	No	45	B-
178	Lavernia	408.0 µg/L	No	0	A-
179	Teague	407.0 µg/L	No	1	B-
180	Trophy Club	405.0 µg/L	No	0	A+
181	Duncanville	404.0 µg/L	No	5	B+
182	Athens	402.0 µg/L	No	95	F
183	Harker Heights	400.0 µg/L	No	19	B-
184	Corpus Christi	390.0 µg/L	No	13	B
185	Dayton	388.0 µg/L	No	4	D
186	Carrollton	387.0 µg/L	No	0	A-
187	Leander	381.0 µg/L	No	5	F
188	Addison	378.0 µg/L	No	3	C
189	Farmers Branch	377.0 µg/L	No	0	A-
190	Highland Village	374.0 µg/L	No	3	A-
191	Hondo	371.0 µg/L	No	1	B+
192	Temple	370.0 µg/L	No	31	C-
193	Belton	370.0 µg/L	No	22	F
194	Crockett	369.0 µg/L	No	47	F
195	La Porte	368.0 µg/L	No	0	B+
196	Corinth	365.0 µg/L	No	2	A-
197	Weatherford	362.0 µg/L	No	140	F
198	Copperas Cove	361.0 µg/L	No	1	B+
199	Keller	360.0 µg/L	No	1	B+
200	Memphis	360.0 µg/L	No	2	B+
201	Lewisville	359.0 µg/L	No	1	C+
202	Bryan	358.0 µg/L	No	11	D
203	Lancaster	358.0 µg/L	No	5	B-
204	Fort Hood	354.9 µg/L	No	3	A-
205	Saginaw	354.0 µg/L	No	4	A-
206	Mansfield	350.0 µg/L	No	0	A-
207	Flower Mound	349.0 µg/L	No	2	C
208	Southlake	347.0 µg/L	No	3	B
209	Denton	345.0 µg/L	No	3	F
210	Grapevine	341.0 µg/L	No	0	A-
211	North Richland Hills	340.0 µg/L	No	1	B+
212	Haltom City	340.0 µg/L	No	2	B
213	Comanche	340.0 µg/L	No	42	D
214	Azle	337.0 µg/L	No	30	F
215	Galena Park	334.0 µg/L	No	4	B-
216	Highlands	333.5 µg/L	No	14	F
217	Baytown	333.0 µg/L	No	6	F
218	Livingston	332.0 µg/L	No	398	F
219	Fort Worth	330.0 µg/L	No	25	F
220	Cooper	330.0 µg/L	No	10	B
221	Arlington	327.0 µg/L	No	5	D+
222	Killeen	323.0 µg/L	No	11	F
223	Coppell	323.0 µg/L	No	0	A-
224	Nocona	323.0 µg/L	No	8	C
225	Hurst	318.0 µg/L	No	1	A-
226	Springtown	317.0 µg/L	No	71	D
227	Forest Hill	315.0 µg/L	No	7	A-
228	Watauga	314.0 µg/L	No	4	A-
229	Porter	311.1 µg/L	No	58	F
230	Colleyville	308.0 µg/L	No	1	B+
231	College Station	303.0 µg/L	No	2	B-
232	Seabrook	303.0 µg/L	No	0	B+
233	Cleburne	299.0 µg/L	No	5	C
234	Pasadena	298.0 µg/L	No	0	B-
235	Mineral Wells	296.4 µg/L	No	7	C-
236	Bedford	295.0 µg/L	No	0	B+
237	Bellaire	292.0 µg/L	No	1	A-
238	Como	291.0 µg/L	No	1	B+
239	Eagle Lake	289.0 µg/L	No	2	C+
240	Deer Park	288.0 µg/L	No	2	B+
241	Terrell	273.0 µg/L	No	21	F
242	Richland Hills	272.0 µg/L	No	2	A-
243	Henderson	271.0 µg/L	No	57	F
244	The Woodlands	265.0 µg/L	No	19	F
245	Wichita Falls	260.0 µg/L	No	823	F
246	Hemphill	252.0 µg/L	No	115	F
247	Texarkana	245.0 µg/L	No	17	F
248	Sulphur Springs	244.0 µg/L	No	18	C
249	Schertz	237.0 µg/L	No	0	B+
250	Gainesville	232.1 µg/L	No	13	D
251	Vidor	230.0 µg/L	No	250	F
252	Tool	224.0 µg/L	No	6	A-
253	Sheppard Afb	220.0 µg/L	No	3	A-
254	Kilgore	217.0 µg/L	No	26	F
255	Mabank	213.0 µg/L	No	66	D
256	Longview	211.5 µg/L	No	20	F
257	Lytle	210.0 µg/L	No	28	D
258	Sunset Valley	182.0 µg/L	No	0	A
259	Splendora	160.0 µg/L	No	4	D
260	Wills Point	156.0 µg/L	No	27	C-
261	Mount Pleasant	152.0 µg/L	No	2	A-
262	Paris	147.0 µg/L	No	15	B+
263	Palestine	144.0 µg/L	No	15	C
264	Marshall	124.0 µg/L	No	46	F
265	Gilmer	123.0 µg/L	No	7	C
266	Douglass	123.0 µg/L	No	4	B
267	Whitehouse	122.0 µg/L	No	12	B+
268	Nacogdoches	116.0 µg/L	No	17	F
269	Bonham	102.2 µg/L	No	30	B+
270	Beaumont	100.0 µg/L	No	42	F
271	Nederland	98.5 µg/L	No	28	D
272	Crystal Beach	96.4 µg/L	No	15	A-
273	Jasper	93.7 µg/L	No	77	F
274	White Oak	93.2 µg/L	No	7	B
275	Port Neches	88.5 µg/L	No	6	B+
276	Groves	83.5 µg/L	No	5	B+
277	Port Arthur	83.4 µg/L	No	8	B+
278	Jacksonville	69.0 µg/L	No	62	D
279	Blue Ridge	67.9 µg/L	No	1	B
280	Diboll	32.0 µg/L	No	9	B-
281	Lufkin	29.0 µg/L	No	167	F
282	Somerville	8.4 µg/L	No	17	C-

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about strontium in Texas

Is strontium in Texas tap water harmful?

Strontium at low levels is not considered harmful, but the EPA set a health reference level (HRL) of 1,500 µg/L based on potential bone effects. 48 cities in Texas exceed this HRL. There is currently no federal MCL for strontium. Children may be more susceptible because strontium can substitute for calcium in developing bones.

How can I remove strontium from my drinking water?

Reverse osmosis and ion exchange (water softener) systems are effective at removing strontium from drinking water. Standard carbon filters are NOT effective. If your water comes from a well in an area with limestone or dolomite geology, consider testing for strontium.

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