Texas
Texas sits in the Southwest and draws its water primarily from reservoirs, Ogallala aquifer, Edwards aquifer, and Rio Grande. With roughly 30.5 million residents, the state has an established water reuse program, reusing an estimated 16% of its treated wastewater.
Texaswater quality & safety
Top violation drivers in Texas
| Contaminant / rule | Systems |
|---|---|
| LEAD AND COPPER RULE REVISIONS | 1012 |
| TTHM | 469 |
| Revised Total Coliform Rule | 173 |
| Lead and Copper Rule | 171 |
| Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) | 150 |
| Arsenic | 106 |
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) · 2026 Q1 · health-based violations since 2016
Big Spring and Wichita Falls pioneered direct potable reuse in the U.S., and explosive growth plus recurring drought keep Texas at the center of reuse innovation.
On the U.S. Drought Monitor scale, Texas currently tracks around moderate to severe conditions. Texas has 4,617 community water systems serving about 32 million people; EPA records show 1,723 of them (37.3%) with a health-based Safe Drinking Water Act violation since 2016. The pages below break down the water issues that matter most here and the communities working on solutions.
Drought history — severe+ extent
% of Texas in severe drought or worse (D2+) each late summer.
Source: U.S. Drought Monitor (NDMC/UNL, USDA, NOAA) · latest 2026-06-09
Water use (USGS 2015)
- Per-capita (public supply)
- 110 gpcd
- Total withdrawals
- 21.3 Bgal/d
- From groundwater
- 32.7%
- Irrigation share
- 25.8%
- Wastewater reused (est.)
- ~16%
Primary water sources
- ≈ reservoirs
- ≈ Ogallala aquifer
- ≈ Edwards aquifer
- ≈ Rio Grande
Common questions
Is tap water safe in Texas?
Texas has 4,617 community water systems serving about 32 million people. EPA records show 1,723 of them (37.3%) with at least one health-based Safe Drinking Water Act violation since 2016, and 15 system(s) over the federal lead action level. Most large systems meet standards; check your specific city and your utility's annual report.
What contaminants are most common in Texas's water?
The most frequent health-based violations involve LEAD AND COPPER RULE REVISIONS, TTHM, Revised Total Coliform Rule.
How much water does Texas use per person?
Public water systems in Texas withdraw about 110 gallons per person per day (USGS 2015), drawing 32.7% of fresh water from groundwater.
How bad is the drought in Texas?
As of 2026-06-09, 41.3% of Texas is in drought (D1+) and 17.7% is in severe drought or worse, per the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Cities in Texas
31 trackedHouston
Houston, TX water profile — supply sources, drought status, wastewater reuse, and the key water issues facing the city.
San Antonio
San Antonio, TX water profile — supply sources, drought status, wastewater reuse, and the key water issues facing the city.
Dallas
Dallas, TX water profile — supply sources, drought status, wastewater reuse, and the key water issues facing the city.
Austin
Austin, TX water profile — supply sources, drought status, wastewater reuse, and the key water issues facing the city.
Fort Worth
Fort Worth, TX water profile — supply sources, drought status, wastewater reuse, and the key water issues facing the city.
El Paso
A desert border city that has practiced water reuse for decades and is building one of the first advanced purification plants in the U.S. to put recycled water directly into the drinking system.
Arlington
Arlington, TX water profile — supply sources, drought status, wastewater reuse, and the key water issues facing the city.
Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi, TX water profile — supply sources, drought status, wastewater reuse, and the key water issues facing the city.
Plano
Plano, TX water profile — supply sources, drought status, wastewater reuse, and the key water issues facing the city.
Laredo
Laredo, TX water profile — supply sources, drought status, wastewater reuse, and the key water issues facing the city.
Lubbock
Lubbock, TX water profile — supply sources, drought status, wastewater reuse, and the key water issues facing the city.
Garland
Garland, TX water profile — supply sources, drought status, wastewater reuse, and the key water issues facing the city.
Key issues in Texas
Drought
Much of the American West is in a multi-decade dry period that researchers describe as the most severe in over a millennium, reshaping how communities plan for water.
ExploreGroundwater Depletion
Aquifers from the Central Valley to the Ogallala are being pumped faster than they recharge, causing land subsidence and threatening long-term supply.
ExplorePotable Reuse
Advanced purification turns treated wastewater into water that meets or exceeds drinking-water standards — increasingly essential in water-stressed regions.
ExploreAgricultural Demand
Agriculture accounts for the majority of consumptive water use in the West, making farm efficiency and water markets central to any supply solution.
ExploreAging Infrastructure
Much of America's water infrastructure is decades past its design life, leaking trillions of gallons a year and demanding hundreds of billions in reinvestment.
ExploreProduced Water
Oil and gas wells generate billions of barrels of salty, contaminated water. Arid states are debating whether to treat and reuse it — and how safely.
ExploreWater Rights
In the West, water is governed by 'first in time, first in right' — a century-old legal system now colliding with scarcity, cities, and the environment.
ExploreAnalysis featuring Texas
Mapping America's Worst Drinking-Water Violations
Oklahoma's water systems break the rules at the highest rate in the country, while Texas racks up the most violations by sheer volume. The gap between those two numbers is the whole story.
Read analysisThe AI Boom's Thirst: How Data Centers Strain Water Supplies
The water cost of artificial intelligence is not just the cooling towers you can see — it is the vast withdrawals behind the electricity that powers them, increasingly in the driest corners of the country.
Read analysisWhat Is Potable Reuse? A Plain-English Guide to Drinking Recycled Water
Direct vs. indirect, the treatment train, and the 'yuck factor' — everything you need to understand the technology reshaping American water.
Read analysisEl Paso Bets Its Future on Drinking Recycled Water
The desert border city is building one of the country's first plants to send purified wastewater straight into the tap — no reservoir buffer required.
Read analysisNew Mexico Wants to Reuse Oilfield Water. Should It?
The Permian Basin generates billions of barrels of contaminated 'produced water.' In a drought-stricken state, that volume is tempting — and contentious.
Read analysis