States → Virginia
State profile · EPA SDWIS + UCMR5
Virginia Drinking Water Quality
2,821 public water systems serve 7,911,199 people across Virginia, with every Safe Drinking Water Act violation and UCMR5 PFAS result on record.
- 2,821
- Water systems
- 146,670
- Total violations
- 90%
- Systems w/ a violation
- 40.9%
- PFAS detection rate
The verdict
Across Virginia, 2,540 of 2,821 water systems (90.0%) carry at least one EPA violation, and 70 of 171 UCMR5-tested systems show PFAS.
- 146,670
- Total EPA violations on record
- 17%
- Health-based (MCL / treatment)
- 90.0%
- Systems with ≥1 violation
- 40.9%
- UCMR5 PFAS detection rate
Water Systems
2,821
Total Violations
146,670
Violation Rate
90%
PFAS Detection
40.9%
70 of 171 tested
Violation Composition
How Virginia's 146,670 violations break down by type, per EPA SDWIS classification.
Health-based (25,642) Monitoring/Reporting (121,028)
| Metric | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Public water systems | 2,821 | - |
| Population served | 7,911,199 | - |
| Total violations | 146,670 | 100% |
| Health-based violations | 25,642 | 17.5% |
| Systems with violations | 2,540 | 90.0% |
| PFAS detection rate | 70 of 171 | 40.9% |
Health-based violations indicate the contaminant exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) or treatment-technique requirement. Monitoring/reporting violations indicate procedural issues (missed tests, late reports) - not necessarily a contamination event.
Largest Water Systems
Fairfax County Water Authority
Herndon, VA · 1,121,613 served
Virginia Beach, City Of
Virginia Beach, VA · 437,994 served
Newport News, City Of
Newport News, VA · 407,300 served
Chesterfield Co Central Water System
Chesterfield, VA · 389,897 served
Loudoun Water - Central System
Ashburn, VA · 334,808 served
Henrico County Water System
Henrico, VA · 330,000 served
Norfolk, City Of
Norfolk, VA · 234,220 served
Richmond, City Of
Richmond, VA · 229,395 served
Arlington County
Arlington, VA · 215,000 served
Western Virginia Water Authority
Roanoke, VA · 182,700 served
Pwcsa - East
Woodbridge, VA · 168,747 served
City of Chesapeake - Northwest River Sys
Chesapeake, VA · 165,240 served
Alexandria, City Of
Hopewell, VA · 159,200 served
Pwcsa - West
Woodbridge, VA · 136,409 served
Stafford County Utilities
Stafford, VA · 123,684 served
Portsmouth, City Of
Suffolk, VA · 97,915 served
Spotsylvania County Utilities
Fredericksburg, VA · 95,686 served
Lynchburg, City Of
Lynchburg, VA · 80,995 served
Acsa Urban Area
Charlottesville, VA · 77,408 served
Dulles Airport
Dulles, VA · 76,500 served
Most Violations
#1 Shenandoah Utility Services Luray
2,228 #2 Glendale Subdivision Mount Jackson
1,597 #3 Brenridge Subdivision Mt. Jackson
1,477 #4 Hillsboro, Town Of Hillsboro
1,416 #5 Stanley Mobile Home Park - South Exmore
1,128 #6 Tangier, Town Of Tangier
987 #7 Deer Run Smithfield
987 #8 Sunray Water Co., Inc. Chesapeake
954 #9 Rescue Waterworks Rescue
915 #10 Panel Processing of VA, Inc. Claudville
898 #11 Willing Workers Club Carrollton
844 #12 Erinbrook Amissville
785 #13 Mountain Lakes Water Company Stanardsville
708 #14 Thorn Spring Golf Course Pulaski
580 #15 Aldie Water Company Aldie
558 Counties in Virginia
Fairfax
44 systems · 1,317,489 served
· 2,070 violations
Loudoun
102 systems · 433,414 served
· 4,980 violations
Prince William
45 systems · 416,494 served
· 1,444 violations
Chesterfield
9 systems · 390,851 served
· 331 violations
Henrico
12 systems · 330,857 served
· 390 violations
Arlington
4 systems · 244,747 served
· 65 violations
Stafford
18 systems · 127,351 served
· 1,020 violations
Spotsylvania
38 systems · 108,100 served
· 1,494 violations
Albemarle
73 systems · 103,266 served
· 3,000 violations
Hanover
49 systems · 75,139 served
· 2,514 violations
Montgomery
28 systems · 73,521 served
· 1,549 violations
James City
28 systems · 63,764 served
· 1,310 violations
Frederick
40 systems · 58,081 served
· 1,522 violations
Rockingham
64 systems · 51,886 served
· 1,187 violations
Bedford
56 systems · 48,941 served
· 2,918 violations
Washington
8 systems · 48,197 served
· 201 violations
Fauquier
70 systems · 48,116 served
· 3,782 violations
Prince George
28 systems · 47,944 served
· 2,146 violations
Augusta
41 systems · 44,697 served
· 1,056 violations
Wise
9 systems · 39,101 served
· 510 violations
Accomack
88 systems · 36,603 served
· 4,602 violations
Caroline
43 systems · 33,476 served
· 3,127 violations
Campbell
26 systems · 33,398 served
· 1,846 violations
Tazewell
22 systems · 33,010 served
· 780 violations
Pulaski
25 systems · 31,466 served
· 2,486 violations
Henry
22 systems · 31,038 served
· 1,209 violations
Culpeper
53 systems · 30,893 served
· 7,846 violations
Isle of Wight
38 systems · 27,529 served
· 4,657 violations
Shenandoah
34 systems · 27,036 served
· 1,284 violations
Smyth
20 systems · 25,446 served
· 756 violations
Showing top 30 of 95 counties.
Drinking Water Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
How many water systems are in Virginia? ▼
Virginia has 2,821 public water systems serving approximately 7,911,199 people. These include community water systems, non-transient non-community systems, and transient non-community systems regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
How many drinking water violations are in Virginia? ▼
Virginia has 146,670 total drinking water violations on record, with 25,642 classified as health-based violations. 90.0% of water systems in the state have at least one violation.
Has PFAS been found in Virginia drinking water? ▼
Of 171 water systems tested for PFAS in Virginia, 70 had PFAS detected, a 40.9% detection rate. PFAS are persistent "forever chemicals" that do not break down in the environment.
What is the violation rate for Virginia water systems? ▼
Virginia's violation rate is 90%. This measures the percentage of public water systems that have at least one recorded violation in the EPA SDWIS database, including both health-based and monitoring/reporting violations.
Where does this Virginia water data come from? ▼
All drinking water data comes from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) and the UCMR5 PFAS monitoring program. SDWIS is the federal database that tracks compliance for all public water systems regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Data Sources & Methodology
Drinking water violation data from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS). PFAS testing data from the UCMR5 monitoring program. SDWIS tracks all public water systems regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Related
Data sourced from EPA SDWIS and UCMR5 PFAS monitoring data. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainWater Editorial
Every figure on PlainWater is rendered directly from EPA SDWIS drinking-water data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on EPA SDWIS data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.