Skip to content
TapBuff
ZIP

Town of Washington

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
198 people
Connections
131
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Washington, VA
County
Rappahannock
Owner
Local government
The 3 ZIP codes it serves

22740, 22747, 22749

The short answer

1 result is above the health goal. The worst: Lead, above the health goal. 6 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2009 to 2026.

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

Fluoride, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), chromium (total) and nitrate: EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from March 27, 2012 to Dec. 5, 2019. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.

Above the health goal1

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

1.7ppb

90th percentile, 2026

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 1.7 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

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.39ppm

Highest yearly average, 2012 to 2018

2018 average: 0.39 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.39 ppm, in 2015, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 0.44 ppm. In 2018, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 0.39 ppm.

What handles it

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

6.2ppb

Highest yearly average, 2013 to 2019

Averaged by year, the highest was 6.2 ppb, in 2019, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. That was also the latest year on file.

What handles it

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

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

4.2ppb

Highest yearly average, 2013 to 2019

2019, one sample: 2.1 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 4.2 ppb, in 2016, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2019, the latest year on file, its one sample was 2.1 ppb.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

3 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Arsenic
  • Chromium (total)
  • Nitrate

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
Lead and Copper RuleRequired information about lead was not given to customers.EPA: Public EducationJan. 1, 2025—Resolved
Lead and Copper RuleRequired information about lead was not given to customers.EPA: Public EducationOct. 1, 2024—Resolved
Lead and Copper RuleRequired information about lead was not given to customers.EPA: Public EducationJuly 1, 2024—Resolved
Lead and Copper RuleRequired information about lead was not given to customers.EPA: Public EducationApril 1, 2024—Resolved
Lead and Copper RuleRequired information about lead was not given to customers.EPA: Public EducationJan. 1, 2024—Resolved
Lead and Copper RuleRequired information about lead was not given to customers.EPA: Public EducationDec. 1, 2023—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 2 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. Fluoride, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), chromium (total) and nitrate come from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Town of Washington’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; EPA’s compliance samples are from March 27, 2012 to Dec. 5, 2019.

Testing your own tap

Town of Washington’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 Washington serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Environmental Systems Service, LTD.- Culpeper

    Culpeper, VA · about 19 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, minerals and other inorganics

    (540) 825-6660

  • VDACS RAHL Warrenton

    Warrenton, VA · about 20 miles

    Certified for bacteria

  • Joiner Labs, LLC dba Joiner Micro Labs

    Warrenton, VA · about 20 miles

    Certified for bacteria

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 VA6157400. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Nearby

All Virginia utilities

What to do next