What's in New Braunfels water, by the numbers

Most New Braunfels homes are served by New Braunfels Utilities. The majority of the water is Guadalupe River water treated at the Gruene Road surface water plant, blended with groundwater from Edwards and Trinity aquifer wells. NBU also buys water from Green Valley SUD and the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority as needed, and it's expanding the river plant to keep up with growth.

One detail worth knowing when you shop for filtration. NBU's report lists its residual as total chlorine, and local reporting says the system uses chloramine, which is chlorine bonded with ammonia. Chloramine needs a specific media, catalytic carbon, to remove well. Confirming what's actually in your water is part of the free test.

One caveat: some addresses in and around New Braunfels are served by other utilities, like Crystal Clear WSC to the northeast, Canyon Lake Water Service out FM 306, Springs Hill WSC toward Seguin, or Green Valley SUD to the southeast. Your water bill says which system is yours, and the free test works the same either way.

The table above is the safety layer. It covers regulated substances with legal limits, monitored constantly and publicly reported. That system works, and New Braunfels water passes it with a Superior rating from the state.

Hardness and chlorine taste live in a different category. The EPA doesn't set health limits for them because they aren't health problems. They're quality-of-life items. In fact, NBU's recent reports don't publish a hardness number at all, so the figures up top come from TCEQ's own sampling of the treated water. They're also what you actually notice every day, and what treatment exists to fix. The safety layer stays the utility's job either way.