Montgomery County, Texas: drinking water report. Montgomery County spans the northern suburbs of Houston, including The Woodlands, Conroe, and Montgomery.
Montgomery County spans the northern suburbs of Houston, including The Woodlands, Conroe, and Montgomery. Most residents receive water from the San Jacinto River Authority, Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District wells, or municipal utilities drawing from Lake Conroe and local aquifers. The county's rapid suburban growth over the past two decades has strained aging infrastructure while introducing new treatment challenges across its 1,077 square miles.
Montgomery County water systems face typical Houston-area concerns including disinfection byproducts, radium from deep aquifers, and historic lead service lines in older neighborhoods. The EPA's UCMR5 monitoring cycle found PFAS detections in several Texas community water systems drawing from groundwater sources, with the synthetic chemicals appearing more frequently in areas near former industrial sites or military installations. While Montgomery County lacks major manufacturing centers compared to Harris County to the south, its proximity to Houston's petrochemical corridor and historical use of firefighting foam at regional airports creates potential exposure pathways.
Lead remains a persistent concern in homes built before 1986, particularly in Conroe's older districts and pockets of Montgomery where galvanized steel pipes may have connected to lead service lines. Texas does not require utilities to publicly map their lead infrastructure, leaving many homeowners uncertain about what lies beneath their streets. The state's 15 ppb action level triggers remediation requirements, but periodic exceedances in small systems suggest the problem extends beyond major utilities.
Disinfection byproducts register consistently across county systems that rely on surface water from Lake Conroe, where organic matter from pine forests and wetlands reacts with chlorine during treatment. Total trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids typically remain below Maximum Contaminant Levels, but health advocates note that EPA standards permit levels some studies associate with bladder cancer risk and pregnancy complications. Radium-226 and radium-228 appear sporadically in deeper wells, reflecting the Chicot and Evangeline aquifers' natural geology rather than industrial contamination.
Test your tap water if you live in a pre-1986 home, rely on a private well, or notice taste and odor changes that suggest treatment issues. Residents concerned about PFAS, lead, or disinfection byproducts should consider filtration systems certified to remove specific contaminants rather than relying on pitcher filters that address primarily aesthetic concerns. Check your water for current data on your utility, review our water filter guide for certified treatment options, read the detailed report for testing recommendations, or visit the Texas state page for regulatory context.