Lead Contamination

Lead in Virginia Drinking Water

Ranked by 90th percentile lead level (ppb) · Data from EPA SDWIS & UCMR

230

Cities Tested

Exceeds Limit

% Exceeds Limit

1.8 ppb

State Avg

▼ 2% vs national

vs National

198

Health Violations

Analysis

Lead in Virginia: what the data shows

Virginia has 230 cities with lead monitoring data, with no cities exceeding the EPA action level of 15 ppb. The state average 90th percentile lead level is 1.8 ppb, compared to 3.3 ppb nationally — better than the national average. 1 city exceeds the 15 ppb action level. High lead levels in tap water typically indicate aging infrastructure — lead service lines, lead solder in older plumbing, or lead-containing brass fixtures. There is no safe level of lead exposure for children. The 90th percentile measurement means that 90% of tap samples in a city are at or below the reported level. This is the standard EPA uses under the Lead and Copper Rule to determine if a water system needs to take corrective action. An NSF 53-certified pitcher or under-sink filter can effectively remove lead at the tap.

Comparison

Cities exceeding 15 ppb EPA Action Level

Virginia

1 of 230 cities

← ▼ 2% below national rate (better)

National avg

378 of 15681 cities

City Map

Lead data across Virginia

Each dot is a city, colored by overall water quality grade. Cities with lead levels above the 15 ppb EPA action level are highlighted. Size reflects population served.

Worst Offenders

Top 10 cities by lead level in Virginia

Highest Lead levels (ppb)

All Cities

All Virginia cities ranked by lead level

#	City	Level	Exceeds?	Violations	Grade
1	Pooler	16.0 ppb	Yes	0	C
2	Suffolk	15.0 ppb	No	16	C
3	Ivor	14.0 ppb	No	10	B+
4	Drakes Branch	13.2 ppb	No	8	B
5	Chesapeake City	11.4 ppb	No	48	F
6	Elkton	10.7 ppb	No	2	B+
7	Kenbridge	10.3 ppb	No	6	A-
8	Lawrenceville	8.5 ppb	No	64	D
9	Chilhowie	8.4 ppb	No	6	A
10	Keysville	8.1 ppb	No	22	B
11	Lovingston	7.2 ppb	No	44	F
12	Troutville	7.2 ppb	No	2	B
13	Charlotte Courthouse	7.2 ppb	No	6	B+
14	Chincoteague	6.6 ppb	No	1	A-
15	Tazewell	6.3 ppb	No	1	B+
16	Kilmarnock	6.1 ppb	No	6	B+
17	Berryville	6.1 ppb	No	11	C+
18	Warm Springs	6.0 ppb	No	5	A
19	Montross	5.9 ppb	No	12	A
20	Mineral	5.7 ppb	No	9	B
21	Abingdon	5.6 ppb	No	7	B+
22	Cumberland	5.6 ppb	No	0	B+
23	New Castle	5.6 ppb	No	1	A-
24	Wakefield	5.5 ppb	No	8	A
25	Rocky Mount	5.2 ppb	No	4	B+
26	Gate City	5.2 ppb	No	7	A-
27	Moneta	5.2 ppb	No	14	C
28	Big Stone Gap	5.0 ppb	No	3	A-
29	Onancock	5.0 ppb	No	6	A-
30	Urbanna	5.0 ppb	No	8	A-
31	Clintwood	4.9 ppb	No	30	D
32	Lynchburg	4.6 ppb	No	14	C
33	Windsor	4.6 ppb	No	17	B+
34	Rappahannock Academy	4.6 ppb	No	8	B+
35	Buena Vista City	4.5 ppb	No	4	A-
36	Culpeper	4.4 ppb	No	18	B-
37	Tappahannock	4.3 ppb	No	6	A-
38	Marion	4.2 ppb	No	7	B
39	Martinsville City	4.2 ppb	No	9	A-
40	Stuart	4.1 ppb	No	0	A
41	Easvtille	4.0 ppb	No	14	A-
42	King George	4.0 ppb	No	34	D
43	Norfolk City	4.0 ppb	No	7	B+
44	Franklin City	4.0 ppb	No	24	A-
45	Alexandria	4.0 ppb	No	9	B+
46	Craigsville	3.9 ppb	No	0	A
47	Orange	3.8 ppb	No	3	A-
48	Lexington City	3.8 ppb	No	2	A
49	Broadway	3.7 ppb	No	1	B
50	Woodstock	3.6 ppb	No	24	D+
51	Richmond City	3.6 ppb	No	2	A
52	Radford City	3.6 ppb	No	4	A+
53	Edinburg	3.5 ppb	No	9	C
54	Petersburg City	3.5 ppb	No	3	A-
55	Round Hill	3.4 ppb	No	8	A-
56	Mcincr, Mcb Quantico	3.3 ppb	No	26	C
57	Madison	3.1 ppb	No	28	D
58	Hampton City	3.0 ppb	No	6	B+
59	Hampden-Sydney	3.0 ppb	No	2	A-
60	Wallops Island	2.8 ppb	No	19	B+
61	Bridgewater	2.7 ppb	No	0	B
62	Winchester City	2.7 ppb	No	1	A
63	Dayton	2.7 ppb	No	2	A
64	Cedar Bluff	2.7 ppb	No	0	A
65	Crewe	2.6 ppb	No	11	C+
66	Brookneal	2.6 ppb	No	24	B+
67	Cleveland	2.6 ppb	No	1	D+
68	Warrenton	2.5 ppb	No	55	F
69	Salem City	2.5 ppb	No	0	A+
70	Mount Jackson	2.5 ppb	No	13	D
71	Grottoes	2.3 ppb	No	8	B
72	Lovettsville	2.3 ppb	No	0	A
73	Farmville	2.3 ppb	No	0	A
74	Chase City	2.2 ppb	No	8	B+
75	Staunton City	2.2 ppb	No	2	A
76	Clarksville	2.1 ppb	No	6	B+
77	Petersburg	2.1 ppb	No	7	B+
78	Lynchburg City	2.0 ppb	No	0	A+
79	Gloucester	2.0 ppb	No	4	A+
80	Williamsburg City	1.9 ppb	No	0	A
81	Rich Creek	1.9 ppb	No	52	B+
82	Irvington	1.6 ppb	No	15	B+
83	Mcgaheysville	1.6 ppb	No	3	A-
84	Lebanon	1.6 ppb	No	10	F
85	Altavista	1.2 ppb	No	5	A-
86	Charles City	1.1 ppb	No	14	C-
87	Herndon	1.1 ppb	No	14	B
88	Pembroke	1.1 ppb	No	65	C+
89	Virginia Beach City	1.0 ppb	No	29	A
90	Portsmouth City	1.0 ppb	No	18	A
91	Suffolk City	1.0 ppb	No	35	A
92	Yorktown	1.0 ppb	No	16	B+
93	Norton City	1.0 ppb	No	0	A-
94	Gordonsville	1.0 ppb	No	9	C+
95	Waynesboro City	1.0 ppb	No	5	A
96	Narrows	0.8 ppb	No	0	C
97	Amherst	0.7 ppb	No	8	B+
98	Collinsville	0.7 ppb	No	3	A+
99	Vienna	0.6 ppb	No	1	B+
100	Arlington	0.6 ppb	No	3	B
101	Covington	0.6 ppb	No	5	A-
102	Radford	0.6 ppb	No	7	A
103	Ashburn	0.5 ppb	No	2	A-
104	Manassas City	0.5 ppb	No	5	A
105	Ruckersville	0.4 ppb	No	4	B
106	Goochland	0.3 ppb	No	7	B
107	Covington City	0.3 ppb	No	4	C-
108	Bremo Bluff	0.2 ppb	No	1	B+
109	Fort Belvoir	0.2 ppb	No	7	B+
110	Newport News City	0.0 ppb	No	8	A-
111	Chesterfield	0.0 ppb	No	5	B+
112	Henrico	0.0 ppb	No	3	A
113	Woodbridge	0.0 ppb	No	1	B+
114	Roanoke City	0.0 ppb	No	3	B+
115	Alexandria City	0.0 ppb	No	0	A
116	Hopewell	0.0 ppb	No	24	F
117	Stafford	0.0 ppb	No	3	B-
118	Fredericksburg	0.0 ppb	No	21	C
119	Charlottesville	0.0 ppb	No	33	F
120	Rockville	0.0 ppb	No	384	F
121	Leesburg	0.0 ppb	No	2	A-
122	Williamsburg	0.0 ppb	No	36	D
123	Hanover	0.0 ppb	No	6	A
124	Harrisonburg City	0.0 ppb	No	0	A
125	Charlottesville City	0.0 ppb	No	0	A
126	Winchester	0.0 ppb	No	9	A-
127	Danville City	0.0 ppb	No	4	A-
128	Bedford	0.0 ppb	No	19	B-
129	Verona	0.0 ppb	No	28	B+
130	Christiansburg	0.0 ppb	No	21	F
131	Blacksburg	0.0 ppb	No	1	A-
132	Hopewell City	0.0 ppb	No	9	A-
133	Fredericksburg City	0.0 ppb	No	1	A+
134	Harrisonburg	0.0 ppb	No	4	B+
135	Wise	0.0 ppb	No	23	B
136	Bristol City	0.0 ppb	No	0	A
137	Vansant	0.0 ppb	No	24	C
138	Pulaski	0.0 ppb	No	61	D
139	Colonial Heights City	0.0 ppb	No	3	A+
140	Front Royal	0.0 ppb	No	16	F
141	New Kent	0.0 ppb	No	12	B
142	North Tazewell	0.0 ppb	No	2	C+
143	Madison Heights	0.0 ppb	No	11	B-
144	Manassas Park City	0.0 ppb	No	6	A
145	Wytheville	0.0 ppb	No	8	B
146	Hillsville	0.0 ppb	No	10	B
147	Weber City	0.0 ppb	No	32	F
148	Roanoke	0.0 ppb	No	85	F
149	Chatham	0.0 ppb	No	46	F
150	Jonesville	0.0 ppb	No	15	C+
151	Dahlgren	0.0 ppb	No	17	C
152	Isle Of Wight	0.0 ppb	No	87	C-
153	Prince George	0.0 ppb	No	15	C+
154	South Boston	0.0 ppb	No	39	B
155	Louisa	0.0 ppb	No	78	D
156	Purcellville	0.0 ppb	No	0	A-
157	Smithfield	0.0 ppb	No	111	F
158	Emporia City	0.0 ppb	No	27	C+
159	Strasburg	0.0 ppb	No	6	A-
160	Emporia	0.0 ppb	No	3	A+
161	Galax City	0.0 ppb	No	0	A
162	Dublin	0.0 ppb	No	5	D
163	Blackstone	0.0 ppb	No	19	A-
164	Lexington	0.0 ppb	No	1	A
165	Bluefield	0.0 ppb	No	3	A-
166	Buckingham	0.0 ppb	No	16	B-
167	Pennington Gap	0.0 ppb	No	3	B
168	Ruther Glen	0.0 ppb	No	4	A-
169	Colonial Beach	0.0 ppb	No	12	B+
170	Pearisburg	0.0 ppb	No	26	D
171	Luray	0.0 ppb	No	39	D
172	Coeburn	0.0 ppb	No	1	A
173	South Hill	0.0 ppb	No	4	A
174	Richlands	0.0 ppb	No	4	A
175	Bracey	0.0 ppb	No	1	A
176	Timberville	0.0 ppb	No	5	B+
177	Stanley	0.0 ppb	No	13	B
178	Clifton Forge	0.0 ppb	No	11	B-
179	Courtland	0.0 ppb	No	97	C+
180	Waverly	0.0 ppb	No	3	A-
181	West Point	0.0 ppb	No	3	A-
182	Amelia	0.0 ppb	No	1	A+
183	Richmond	0.0 ppb	No	16	D
184	Appalachia	0.0 ppb	No	1	A
185	Gretna	0.0 ppb	No	6	B-
186	Rural Retreat	0.0 ppb	No	1	A
187	Vint Hill	0.0 ppb	No	0	A
188	Shenandoah	0.0 ppb	No	8	A
189	Independence	0.0 ppb	No	9	B
190	Stanardsville	0.0 ppb	No	34	D
191	King William	0.0 ppb	No	0	A
192	Floyd	0.0 ppb	No	7	B+
193	New Market	0.0 ppb	No	0	A
194	Honaker	0.0 ppb	No	1	B+
195	Hamilton	0.0 ppb	No	0	A-
196	Saltville	0.0 ppb	No	0	A-
197	Exmore	0.0 ppb	No	11	C
198	Hot Springs	0.0 ppb	No	2	A-
199	Mitchells	0.0 ppb	No	0	A+
200	Stephens City	0.0 ppb	No	0	A-
201	Dryden	0.0 ppb	No	3	A
202	Warsaw	0.0 ppb	No	5	A-
203	Victoria	0.0 ppb	No	4	A
204	State Farm	0.0 ppb	No	6	A+
205	Appomattox	0.0 ppb	No	1	A
206	Troy	0.0 ppb	No	1	A+
207	Saluda	0.0 ppb	No	0	A-
208	Bland	0.0 ppb	No	2	B+
209	Remington	0.0 ppb	No	37	A-
210	Fincastle	0.0 ppb	No	0	A-
211	Middletown	0.0 ppb	No	0	A
212	Buchanan	0.0 ppb	No	1	B+
213	Hurt	0.0 ppb	No	6	B+
214	Sugar Grove	0.0 ppb	No	2	D+
215	Bowling Green	0.0 ppb	No	22	D+
216	Parksley	0.0 ppb	No	20	B+
217	St. Paul	0.0 ppb	No	3	A
218	Quinby	0.0 ppb	No	9	A
219	Dilwyn	0.0 ppb	No	2	A-
220	La Crosse	0.0 ppb	No	5	A
221	Surry	0.0 ppb	No	10	A-
222	Tysons	0.0 ppb	No	0	A+
223	Montvale	0.0 ppb	No	5	B
224	Woodberry Forest	0.0 ppb	No	0	A
225	Brunswick	0.0 ppb	No	1	B+
226	Quantico	0.0 ppb	No	0	A
227	Franklin	0.0 ppb	No	2	A-
228	Knott'S Island	0.0 ppb	No	2	B+
229	Knott'S Island	0.0 ppb	No	2	B+
230	Newport News	0.0 ppb	No	13	A-

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about lead in Virginia

Is lead in Virginia tap water a concern?

Yes — 1 of 230 cities with lead data exceed the EPA action level of 15 ppb. The state average is 1.8 ppb. Even below the action level, lead poses health risks especially for children and pregnant women. If your home was built before 1986, consider testing your tap water directly.

How can I reduce lead exposure from Virginia tap water?

Use an NSF 53-certified water filter, which is specifically certified to reduce lead. Run your cold tap for 30 seconds before drinking or cooking, especially if water has been sitting in pipes for hours. Never use hot tap water for cooking or making baby formula, as heat increases lead leaching from pipes.

Which Virginia cities have the highest lead levels?

The cities with the highest 90th percentile lead levels in Virginia are: Pooler (16.0 ppb), Suffolk (15.0 ppb), Ivor (14.0 ppb), Drakes Branch (13.2 ppb), Chesapeake City (11.4 ppb). See the full ranked table above.

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