Community Water System · PWS VA5009050
Amherst, Town Of
Operator location Amherst, Virginia - upper-third violation load (> 74 violations) with 161 EPA violations; surface water source; 2,231 served (PWS-level, not municipal population).
- 2,231
- People served (this PWS) Middle third of systems
- 161
- EPA violations (this PWS) Upper third of systems
- 31
- Health-based (this PWS) Middle third by health-based share
- Untested
- UCMR5 (this PWS) No UCMR5 result
Amherst, Town Of standing, high SDWIS violation third
161 EPA SDWIS violations on record - upper-third violation load (> 74 violations). Corpus terciles use 29,740 systems serving 500+ (the sitemap cohort). Health-based share 19% is middle-third health share (≤ 23%). Population rank #12,751 of 29,740 among systems serving 500+.
The verdict
Amherst, Town Of sits in the upper third of the sitemap cohort by violation count (161), so the tables below sample a dense compliance trail rather than a near-clean ledger. Population served is mid-pack at 2,231 (mid served population (≤ 3,309)). Health-based share is 19% (middle-third health share (≤ 23%)). No UCMR5 PFAS test appears for this system in this extract.
- #12,751 of 29,740
- Population · /systems
- #209 of 570
- Population · VA
- 161
- Total EPA violations on record
- 19%
- Health-based (MCL / treatment failure)
Population ordinals match the sitemap cohort (systems serving 500+, population_served DESC). See methodology · corpus placement.
Based on EPA SDWIS violation history and UCMR5 PFAS testing only, not water taste, odor, infrastructure age, or contaminants outside the federally tracked set.
System Details
- System Type
- Community
- Owner Type
- Local
- Connections
- 1,170
- County
- Amherst
- School/Daycare
- No
- MCL Violations
- 31
- Monitoring Violations
- 130
- Treatment Tech Violations
- 0
Violation History
Contaminant violations recorded by EPA.
| Contaminant | Category | Count | Latest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) | MCL | 27 | 2018 |
| Chlorine | MR | 7 | 2024 |
| Arsenic | MR | 4 | 2018 |
| Barium | MR | 4 | 2018 |
| Chromium | MR | 4 | 2018 |
| Fluoride | MR | 4 | 2018 |
| Revised Total Coliform Rule | MON | 4 | 2023 |
| Cadmium | MR | 4 | 2018 |
| Mercury | MR | 4 | 2018 |
| Selenium | MR | 4 | 2018 |
| Lead and Copper Rule | MR | 4 | 2018 |
| Coliform (TCR) | MCL | 4 | 2015 |
| Nitrate-Nitrite | MR | 3 | 2018 |
| cis-1,2-Dichloroethylene | MR | 3 | 2018 |
| Xylenes, Total | MR | 3 | 2018 |
| DICHLOROMETHANE | MR | 3 | 2018 |
| 1,1-Dichloroethylene | MR | 3 | 2018 |
| 1,2-Dichloroethane | MR | 3 | 2018 |
| Trichloroethylene | MR | 3 | 2018 |
| Tetrachloroethylene | MR | 3 | 2018 |
| CHLOROBENZENE | MR | 3 | 2018 |
| Benzene | MR | 3 | 2018 |
| Toluene | MR | 3 | 2018 |
| Ethylbenzene | MR | 3 | 2018 |
| Styrene | MR | 3 | 2018 |
| Nickel | MR | 3 | 2018 |
| Antimony, Total | MR | 3 | 2018 |
| Vinyl chloride | MR | 3 | 2018 |
| 1,1,2-Trichloroethane | MR | 3 | 2018 |
| trans-1,2-Dichloroethylene | MR | 3 | 2018 |
Violation Count vs. the National Corpus
Amherst, Town Of has 161 recorded EPA violations, 82% of the 29,740 public water systems serving 500+ people nationwide carry fewer, and 18% carry more. 19% of this system's own violations are health-based (31 of 161), and it ranks #12,751 of 29,740 by population served among that same cohort.
EPA violations vs. the national water-system corpus
Public water systems serving 500+ people (EPA SDWIS)
161 Higher than most more violations than 82% of 29,740 water systems
the national water-system corpus, bucketed by value
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more water systems. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source EPA SDWIS · 2026-05-15
How many violations vs. how serious, among peer systems
Amherst, Town Of plotted against 29 peer public water systems (500+ people served), by total violation count (x) and the share of those violations that are health-based (y). The crosshair sits at this sample's own median on each axis. A high violation count does not automatically mean a serious record: most monitoring and reporting violations are minor, not health-based.
Violation volume vs. health-based share
SDWIS compliance record for Amherst, Town Of
161 violations on record for VA5009050; use EPA SDWIS to confirm return-to-compliance dates and monitoring categories.
Sources: EPA SDWIS · Virginia Department of Health, Office of Drinking Water
Nationwide peers
161 violations · 2,231 served: nearest cross-state SDWIS matches.
Cross-state systems with comparable violation load
Nearest cross-state community systems (500+ served) by total SDWIS violations on record.
Cross-state systems near this population served
Nearest cross-state systems by EPA SDWIS population_served (same 500+ sitemap gate).
What to do with Amherst, Town Of
Use this system's EPA-reported record as a starting filter, not a final verdict.
- See how every tracked system in Virginia compares on the same EPA violation measures. Virginia systems
- Check whether PFAS was detected at this system under UCMR5 testing. PFAS guide
- Find and compare another public water system by name or PWSID. Search systems
EPA SDWIS and UCMR5 figures are informational only, not a substitute for a certified lab test of your own tap water.
Every figure on PlainWater is rendered directly from EPA SDWIS drinking-water data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.