Wichita Falls, Texas

Water Quality in Wichita Falls, Texas

Watershed: Pond Creek – Wichita River

What is the water quality like in Wichita Falls, TX?

Let’s dive deeper into what’s in Wichita Falls water.

What’s in Wichita Falls water?

Here are the top 6 chemical compounds in your water and what health issues they can potentially cause:

1. Arsenic – Potential effect: Cancer
2. Bromodichloromethane – Potential effect: Cancer
3. Chloroform – Potential effect: Cancer
4. Haloacetic acids – Potential effect: Cancer
5. Hexavalent Chromium – Potential effect: Cancer
6. Total trihalomethanes – Potential effect: Cancer

These are six of the 39 contaminants analyzed by the Environmental Working Group (ewg.org). This is a very high number of total contaminants.

15 of these contaminants are rated as exceeding EWG Health Guidelines.

See the What Can You Do? section below for all of the contaminants you can filter out and how to do it.

Where does Wichita Falls’s water come from?

Wichita Falls’s water comes from the Pond Creek – Wichita River watershed.

One of the three EPA assessed water sources in the Pond Creek – Wichita River watershed is in Unknown condition. This is the Wichita Valley Irrigation Project.

Ideally, a water source would be rated in Good condition. Two segments of the Wichita River below Diversion Lake Dam are in Good condition.

Whether a water source is in Impaired or Good condition refers to the quality of these uses:

1. Drinking Water
2. Aquatic Life
3. Fish and Shellfish Consumption
4. Recreation

Learn more from How’s My Waterway

See below for what you can do to improve Wichita Falls’s water.

Conclusion – What Can You Do?

Information about water quality can be surprising.

But there’s no reason to lose hope. There are things you can do in your household as well as things you can do at a community level.

In Your Household:

• Use Berkey filters with activated carbon to filter out 29 of the 39 contaminants in your drinking water.
  • Berkey filters can also remove up to 99.99% of Lead in Wichita Falls water.
  • Brita can filter 20 contaminants (and Lead depending on the filter).
  • Note: We may receive a commission if you decide to purchase filters through links on this page.
• To filter out 36 of the 39 contaminants, consider a Reverse Osmosis water filtration system for your house.
  • These are more expensive than pitchers to purchase, but can be more effective.
  • They have the benefit of filtering out heavy hitters like:
    • 1,4-Dioxane – “Exposure may cause damage to the central nervous system, liver and kidneys.”
    • Aluminum
    • Antimony
    • Arsenic – health risks
    • Barium – health risks in water
    • Bromochloroacetic acid
    • Bromodichloromethane – health risks in drinking water
    • Bromoform
    • Chlorite – changes in blood chemistry
    • Chloroform – side effects
    • Chromium (total)
    • Cyanide – exposure limits
    • Dibromoacetic acid
    • Dibromochloromethane
    • Dichloroacetic acid
    • Diquat – herbicide that is moderately toxic to humans. May be harmful is swallowed, inhaled, or absorbed through the skin in large quantities. See: health effects
    • Ethylbenzene
    • Fluoride
    • Haloacetic acids – chlorination byproduct*
    • Hexavalent chromium – health effects
    • Methyl ethyl ketone
    • Methyl isobutyl ketone
    • Molybdenum
    • Monobromoacetic acid
    • Monochloroacetic acid
    • Nitrate
    • Nitrite
    • Paraquat – pure paraquat, a herbicide, is highly toxic to humans if ingested.
    • Radium
    • Selenium – health risks
    • Strontium
    • Total trihalomethanes – byproduct of chlorination*
    • Trichloroacetic acid
    • Uranium
    • Xylenes

*Chlorination is an effective method of disinfecting/treating drinking water. You can then use a water filter to reduce the effects of chlorination byproducts to get the safest, cleanest water possible.

In Your Community:

Contact your local government officials and put pressure on them to invest in cleaner waterways and upgraded city water filtration and treatment.

Go to: http://www.wichitafallstx.gov/ to find contact information for your local officials.

Water Quality in Other Texas Cities

Texas Water Quality Page