Nueces County tap water: hardness, PFAS and lead

Nueces County, Texas has about 353,125 residents (Census 2024 estimate) and 12 community water systems in EPA records. The largest local system is City of Corpus Christi, serving about 317,247 people from surface water.

! 2 of 6 largest systems with health-based violationsPFAS detected at 5 of 5 sampled systemsHardness 32.1 gpg (low confidence)

Public-record figures, not a test of your tap. Not 100% accurate or guaranteed. Confirm with a water test, your utility or a qualified pro before you buy or act.

How hard is Nueces County water?

City of Corpus Christi Estimate: untreated local water, not your tap · Low confidence Older data

32.1 gpg (550 mg/L), very hard

Nueces County: median of 466 results from 75 monitoring sites (streams and wells). Utilities may blend or treat water, so your tap can differ. This county's data is older or less complete; treat it with extra caution.

Source: Hard Water Map county data, samples through 2008

County estimates: Hard Water Map (hardwatermap.com), CC BY 4.0, derived from the USGS/EPA Water Quality Portal; file generated 2026-07-22. License

Public-record figures, not a test of your tap. Not 100% accurate or guaranteed. Confirm with a water test, your utility or a qualified pro before you buy or act.

Softener size at 32.1 gpg

For a 3-person home using 57 gallons per person per day and regenerating weekly, you'd remove about 38,424 grains between regenerations. Suggested size: 40,000 grain. This uses a low-confidence county estimate, so confirm with a test first.

Estimate only. Not 100% accurate or guaranteed. Confirm with a water test, your utility or a qualified pro before you buy or act.

Open the softener calculator with 32.1 gpg

Largest water systems in Nueces County

The 6 biggest of 12 community water systems on EPA records for this county. Service areas don't follow county lines; your water bill names your provider.

City of Corpus Christi

TX1780003 · serves about 317,247 people · Surface water

✓ No health-based violations✓ Lead below action levelPFAS detected (3 types)

Lead 90th percentile: 1.4 ppb (period starting 2024-01-01). Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).

  • PFBA: highest sample 11.5 ppt (4 of 4 samples); no federal limit
  • PFPeA: highest sample 5.6 ppt (2 of 4 samples); no federal limit
  • PFHxA: highest sample 3.8 ppt (1 of 4 samples); no federal limit

EPA ECHO record

Nueces County Wcid 4

TX1780006 · serves about 14,880 people · Surface water

! 4 health-based violations✓ Lead below action levelPFAS detected (1 type)

Lead 90th percentile: 1 ppb (period starting 2024-01-01). Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).

  • PFBA: highest sample 12 ppt (8 of 8 samples); no federal limit

EPA ECHO record

Nueces County Wcid 3

TX1780005 · serves about 14,000 people · Surface water

! 8 health-based violations✓ Lead below action levelPFAS detected (1 type)

Lead 90th percentile: 2.4 ppb (period starting 2023-01-01) Older result. Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).

  • PFBA: highest sample 12 ppt (3 of 4 samples); no federal limit

EPA ECHO record

Naval Air Station Corpus Christi

TX1780017 · serves about 7,048 people · Surface water

✓ No health-based violations✓ Lead below action levelPFAS detected (1 type)

Lead 90th percentile: 1.3 ppb (period starting 2024-01-01). Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).

  • PFBA: highest sample 7.6 ppt (2 of 4 samples); no federal limit

EPA ECHO record

Nueces WSC

TX1780052 · serves about 3,165 people · Surface water

✓ No health-based violations✓ Lead below action levelPFAS: not sampled

Lead 90th percentile: 0.6 ppb (period starting 2022-01-01) Older result. Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).

EPA ECHO record

City of Bishop

TX1780002 · serves about 3,103 people · Surface water

✓ No health-based violations✓ Lead below action levelPFAS detected (1 type)

Lead 90th percentile: 1.6 ppb (period starting 2023-01-01) Older result. Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).

  • PFBA: highest sample 6.6 ppt (1 of 4 samples); no federal limit

EPA ECHO record

Public-record figures, not a test of your tap. Not 100% accurate or guaranteed. Confirm with a water test, your utility or a qualified pro before you buy or act.

A PFAS detection is not a violation. Federal limits (4 ppt for PFOA and PFOS) apply to running annual averages, with compliance required by 2029. In May 2026 EPA proposed extending the PFOA/PFOS deadline to 2031 and removing other PFAS limits; not final as of 2026-10-21.

Test your own tap

These are public records for whole systems. Your home's pipes, fixtures and any private well can change what you drink. A certified lab test or a hardness test strip gives you your own numbers. Then use our PFAS and lead filter selector to see which certifications to look for.

Common questions about Nueces County water

Is tap water in Nueces County safe to drink?

2 of the 6 largest systems here have at least one health-based violation in EPA records since October 2021 (see each system below for status). City of Corpus Christi's most recent lead 90th percentile was 1.4 ppb (2024), below the 15 ppb action level. Public records can't guarantee what comes out of your tap, especially with older plumbing, so a home test is the surest check.

How hard is the water in Nueces County?

There's no published utility figure in our data, but untreated local stream and well samples in Nueces County have a median of about 32.1 grains per gallon (550 mg/L, very hard). That's a low-confidence estimate of source water, not your tap, so test before you buy equipment. For a 3-person home at 32.1 gpg, our softener calculator suggests a 40,000 grain unit as a starting point.

Is there PFAS in Nueces County water?

5 of the 5 sampled systems listed here detected at least one PFAS in EPA's UCMR 5 testing. A detection isn't a violation: federal PFAS limits apply to running annual averages starting in 2029.

Which water system serves my address in Nueces County?

Most homes are served by City of Corpus Christi or one of the other systems listed on this page, but service areas don't follow county lines. Your water bill names your provider, and its annual Consumer Confidence Report has the full test results.

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Sources for this page

Data as of October 21, 2026. Figures are copied from public records and combined with our own calculations; they can be out of date or wrong. Tapped Out isn't affiliated with any utility or the EPA. Written and reviewed by the Tapped Out team. How we calculate · All sources.