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Town of Amherst

What EPA’s and CDC’s records show in this utility’s water: nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals; lead and copper; and violations since 2016, with the certification that handles each result.

Serves
2,231 people
Connections
1,170
Water source
Surface water
Based in
Amherst, VA
County
Amherst
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

24521

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit, and 1 more is above the health goal. The worst: Haloacetic acids (HAA5), above the legal limit. 7 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2018 to 2025.

Arsenic: Virginia’s yearly averages per water system, as CDC’s Environmental Public Health Tracking Network publishes them, 2021 to 2023.

Haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), fluoride, nitrate and chromium (total): EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from Jan. 2, 2012 to Oct. 17, 2019. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.

Above the legal limit1

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Above the legal limit

63.1ppb

Highest yearly average, 2012 to 2019

2019 average: 35.9 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 63.1 ppb, in 2017, above EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 103 ppb. In 2019, the latest year on file, its four samples averaged 35.9 ppb. EPA recorded violations for haloacetic acids (HAA5) at this utility in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Above the health goal1

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

0.74ppb

90th percentile, 2023 to 2025

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 0.74 ppb, below EPA’s action level of 15 ppb. The action level drops to 10 ppb on Nov. 1, 2027. EPA’s health goal for lead is zero.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits3

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

63ppb

Highest yearly average, 2012 to 2019

2019 average: 27.8 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 63 ppb, in 2017, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 92.4 ppb. In 2019, the latest year on file, its four samples averaged 27.8 ppb. EPA recorded no violation for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility from 2012 to 2019.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

1.1ppm

Highest yearly average, 2012 to 2019

2019, one sample: 0.19 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.1 ppm, in 2012, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2019, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.19 ppm.

What handles it

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.38ppm

Highest sample; found in 7 of 7

2019, one sample: 0.38 ppm

The highest sample, in 2019, was 0.38 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. That was also the latest year on file, and its one sample was 0.38 ppm.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”
2 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Arsenic
  • Chromium (total)

What handles it

A certification covers specific claims, not a whole standard. Look for these claims on the certifier’s listing, not the box. Wording varies a little: NSF writes “Lead Reduction,” WQA just “Lead.”

At the tap, or for the whole house?

Lead and copper usually come from pipes and fixtures inside or near your home. A whole-house system sits where water enters, so it cannot catch what your own plumbing adds after it. For those, the filter that counts is the one at the tap. How whole-house systems compare.

Filters with those claims on a certifier’s listing

Disclosure: TapBuff earns a commission if you buy through some links on this page. It does not change which standard or filter we name. As an Amazon Associate, TapBuff earns from qualifying purchases. How TapBuff makes money

Compare five-year costs

The best water filters for lead, ranked

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2018 to June 30, 20180.073 MG/LResolved
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2018 to March 31, 20180.076 MG/LResolved
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2017 to Dec. 31, 20170.071 MG/LResolved
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2017 to Sept. 30, 20170.064 MG/LResolved
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2017 to June 30, 20170.064 MG/LResolved
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2017 to March 31, 20170.061 MG/LResolved
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2016 to June 30, 20160.064 MG/LResolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 38 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic results here are Virginia’s yearly averages as CDC publishes them, from 2021 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), fluoride, nitrate and chromium (total) come from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Town of Amherst’s own annual report, which it must send you every year, has newer results for those and the contaminants this page does not show.

  • Your own plumbing. Lead results are the 90th percentile across homes the utility samples. Your home’s service line, solder and fixtures decide yours. A certified lab test is the only way to know.

  • What it means for your health. This page reports what the records show and EPA’s limits and goals; it is not medical advice. If you are worried about a health effect, talk to a doctor or your local health department.

  • Anything after the latest data. SDWIS data is from 2026 Q3; UCMR 5 didn’t sample this utility; CDC’s yearly averages for Virginia cover 2021 to 2023; EPA’s compliance samples are from Jan. 2, 2012 to Oct. 17, 2019.

Testing your own tap

Town of Amherst’s results are for the water it sends out. What your own service line, solder and fixtures add shows up only in a test of your tap, by a lab Virginia certifies.

The 3 labs Virginia certifies closest to the area Town of Amherst serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • VDACS RAHL Lynchburg

    Lynchburg, VA · about 19 miles

    Certified for bacteria

  • BWXT Lynchburg Technology Center

    Lynchburg, VA · about 19 miles

    Certified for radioactivity

    (434) 522-6803

  • Willoughby & Associates, Inc.

    Forest, VA · about 23 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (434) 534-9834

Virginia Household Water Quality Program, Virginia Cooperative Extension: Drinking water clinics in about 70 counties a year, run through local Extension offices: pick up a kit, collect the sample on the set day, and drop it off locally. Each kit tests well, spring or cistern water for 28 things, including bacteria, nitrate, lead and arsenic. $70 a kit, with funding to help if you need it. Virginia Household Water Quality Program.

All 145 certified labs for Virginia

Sources

PWSID VA5009050. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Nearby

All Virginia utilities

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