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CITY OF SHERMAN vs CITY OF HOUSTON

Water quality comparison — risk levels, violations, PFAS records, and contaminants

Quick Answer

Both utilities share the same risk level (safe). CITY OF SHERMAN has 0 open health-based violations and 638 PFAS records. CITY OF HOUSTON has 0 open health-based violations and 2784 PFAS records.

CITY OF SHERMAN

Texas · TX0910006

Overall Risk Level

No Concerns Detected

No Concern
Low
Moderate
High
Critical

Water meets all safety standards with no detected exceedances.

0

Open violations

638

PFAS records

CITY OF HOUSTON

Texas · TX1010013

Overall Risk Level

No Concerns Detected

No Concern
Low
Moderate
High
Critical

Water meets all safety standards with no detected exceedances.

0

Open violations

2784

PFAS records

Head-to-Head Comparison

MetricCITY OF SHERMANCITY OF HOUSTON
StateTexasTexas
Risk LevelNo Concerns DetectedNo Concerns Detected
Population Served43,6452,970,543
Open Health Violations00
Total Violations453
PFAS Records6382784
OwnershipLocalLocal
Service TypeSurface waterSurface water
City ServedHouston

Contaminants in Violation Records

CITY OF SHERMAN

  • E. coli
  • Bromate

CITY OF HOUSTON

  • Lead
  • Coliform (TCR)

Key Differences

CITY OF SHERMAN has 638 PFAS records vs. 2784 for CITY OF HOUSTON.

What Should I Do?

If either utility shows open violations or elevated PFAS records, consider:

  • Installing a reverse osmosis filter — removes PFAS, lead, arsenic, nitrates, and most heavy metals.
  • Requesting your utility’s annual Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) for the most current test results.
  • Ordering a certified lab water test if you want contaminant-specific data for your address.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is safer — CITY OF SHERMAN or CITY OF HOUSTON?

Both utilities share the same risk level (safe). Both utilities have similar violation profiles — review the full data above to decide based on specific contaminants that concern you.

What does "open health-based violation" mean?

An open health-based violation means a water system has exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) or failed to meet a treatment technique — and the violation has not yet been resolved. These are the most serious type of water quality violations.

How current is this data?

Violation data comes from EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), which is updated as utilities report. PFAS data comes from EPA's UCMR 5 monitoring (2023–2025). Risk levels are recalculated daily.

What does PWSID mean?

PWSID stands for Public Water System ID — a unique federal identifier assigned to each community water system. You can use it to look up a system in EPA's ECHO database.

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