States → West Virginia
State profile · EPA SDWIS + UCMR5
West Virginia Drinking Water Quality
774 public water systems serve 1,597,057 people across West Virginia, with every Safe Drinking Water Act violation and UCMR5 PFAS result on record.
- 774
- Water systems
- 187,590
- Total violations
- 99.5%
- Systems w/ a violation
- 45.1%
- PFAS detection rate
The verdict
Across West Virginia, 770 of 774 water systems (99.5%) carry at least one EPA violation, and 46 of 102 UCMR5-tested systems show PFAS.
- 187,590
- Total EPA violations on record
- 6%
- Health-based (MCL / treatment)
- 99.5%
- Systems with ≥1 violation
- 45.1%
- UCMR5 PFAS detection rate
Water Systems
774
Total Violations
187,590
Violation Rate
99.5%
PFAS Detection
45.1%
46 of 102 tested
Violation Composition
How West Virginia's 187,590 violations break down by type, per EPA SDWIS classification.
Health-based (11,480) Monitoring/Reporting (176,110)
| Metric | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Public water systems | 774 | - |
| Population served | 1,597,057 | - |
| Total violations | 187,590 | 100% |
| Health-based violations | 11,480 | 6.1% |
| Systems with violations | 770 | 99.5% |
| PFAS detection rate | 46 of 102 | 45.1% |
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
Wvawc-Kanawha Valley Dist
Charleston, WV · 209,283 served
Wvawc - Huntington Dist
Charleston, WV · 98,647 served
Morgantown Utility Board
Morgantown, WV · 64,644 served
Beckley Water Company
Beckley, WV · 47,386 served
Berkeley County Pswd-Potomac River
Martinsburg, WV · 34,786 served
Berkeley Co P S W D-Bunker Hill
Martinsburg, WV · 34,586 served
Parkersburg Utility Board
Palestine, WV · 34,251 served
Fairmont City Of
Fairmont, WV · 30,586 served
Wheeling Water
Wheeling, WV · 29,899 served
Wvawc New River Regional Wtr Trtmt Plt
Charleston, WV · 25,603 served
Putnam P S D
Tornado, WV · 24,020 served
Wvawc Bluestone Plant
Charleston, WV · 20,562 served
Weirton Area Water Board
Weirton, WV · 18,633 served
Clarksburg Water Board
Clarksburg, WV · 18,006 served
Logan County Psd - Northern Regional
Logan, WV · 16,921 served
Martinsburg City Of
Martinsburg, WV · 16,250 served
Charles Town Utilities
Charles Town, WV · 15,220 served
Wvaw - Weston
Weston, WV · 14,534 served
St Albans Water
Saint Albans, WV · 13,758 served
Vienna
Vienna, WV · 12,507 served
Most Violations
#1 Pinnacle Water Association Rock
11,356 #2 Coal Mountain Water Coal Mountain
10,707 #3 Hiawatha Water Matoaka
5,589 #4 Frankfort Psd Fort Ashby
3,932 #5 Seneca Trail Christian Academy Ronceverte
3,797 #6 Mingo County Psd - Naugatuck Naugatuck, WV
2,210 #7 Wvaw - Walnut Grove Utilities Charleston
2,103 #8 Sugar Creek Psd Frametown
1,742 #9 School Days Child Care Buckeye
1,703 #10 Central Hampshire Psd Green Spring Augusta
1,684 #11 Potomac Farms Water Co Charles Town
1,408 #12 Piedmont Municipal Wtr Wks Piedmont
1,371 #13 Reamer Hill Water Assoc Clendenin
1,344 #14 McDowell County Psd Berwind Welch
1,322 #15 Cass Scenic Railroad Cass
1,264 Counties in West Virginia
Kanawha
4 systems · 223,150 served
· 2,563 violations
Cabell
2 systems · 104,093 served
· 362 violations
Berkeley
23 systems · 97,328 served
· 4,057 violations
Wood
10 systems · 86,630 served
· 1,340 violations
Monongalia
12 systems · 82,877 served
· 1,384 violations
Raleigh
18 systems · 73,148 served
· 3,512 violations
Harrison
22 systems · 65,815 served
· 4,253 violations
Marion
27 systems · 57,736 served
· 3,788 violations
Ohio
5 systems · 45,020 served
· 732 violations
Fayette
12 systems · 37,599 served
· 1,759 violations
Brooke
8 systems · 36,770 served
· 1,190 violations
Wayne
10 systems · 34,878 served
· 1,215 violations
Logan
10 systems · 34,333 served
· 2,382 violations
Jefferson
43 systems · 34,217 served
· 14,377 violations
Putnam
4 systems · 33,110 served
· 161 violations
Mercer
13 systems · 31,615 served
· 18,223 violations
Preston
75 systems · 31,431 served
· 4,723 violations
Marshall
14 systems · 30,546 served
· 2,196 violations
Greenbrier
36 systems · 30,047 served
· 10,134 violations
Randolph
29 systems · 25,710 served
· 6,462 violations
Nicholas
9 systems · 24,847 served
· 1,166 violations
Mason
12 systems · 24,359 served
· 2,722 violations
Jackson
10 systems · 24,044 served
· 1,614 violations
Summers
17 systems · 22,827 served
· 4,549 violations
Mineral
16 systems · 22,240 served
· 9,391 violations
Upshur
8 systems · 22,120 served
· 698 violations
Hancock
9 systems · 19,588 served
· 1,607 violations
Taylor
5 systems · 16,650 served
· 332 violations
Lewis
3 systems · 16,064 served
· 277 violations
Wyoming
20 systems · 15,488 served
· 18,999 violations
Showing top 30 of 55 counties.
Drinking Water Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
How many water systems are in West Virginia? ▼
West Virginia has 774 public water systems serving approximately 1,597,057 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 West Virginia? ▼
West Virginia has 187,590 total drinking water violations on record, with 11,480 classified as health-based violations. 99.5% of water systems in the state have at least one violation.
Has PFAS been found in West Virginia drinking water? ▼
Of 102 water systems tested for PFAS in West Virginia, 46 had PFAS detected, a 45.1% detection rate. PFAS are persistent "forever chemicals" that do not break down in the environment.
What is the violation rate for West Virginia water systems? ▼
West Virginia's violation rate is 99.5%. 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 West 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.