Is Cape Charles, VA tap water safe?
The short answer
1 of the 2 utilities serving Cape Charles has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and CDC’s records: Town of Cape Charles.
Town of Cape Charles, which serves the most people here, has 1 result above the legal limit and 1 result above the health goal. The worst: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at 74.5 ppb, above the legal limit.
A town can be served by more than one utility, and some homes are on private wells. The name on your water bill tells you which is yours, and your ZIP code narrows it down. They are listed by how many people each serves in Cape Charles’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
Town of Cape Charles
Virginia · serves 1,342 people · under 100 in Cape Charles
1 result above the legal limit and 1 result above the health goal. The worst: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at 74.5 ppb, above the legal limit.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Arlington Plantation
Virginia · serves 45 people · based in Cape Charles
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 2.0 ppb, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
What handles it
Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in Town of Cape Charles’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.
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
Aquasana Clean Water Machine (AQ-CWM2)
Countertop
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 9, 2026
Certified for: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), Lead
Brita Hub Countertop Water Filter System (87340)
Countertop
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 9, 2026
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 53checked Oct. 9, 2026
Certified for: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), Lead
Ninja HydraSense Countertop Water Filtration System (WF1001)
Countertop
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 9, 2026
Certified for: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), Lead
Water testing near Cape Charles
The 3 labs Virginia certifies closest to Cape Charles, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
HRSD Central Environmental Laboratory
Virginia Beach, VA · about 27 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts, radioactivity
Jennings-Thompson Laboratories, Inc.
Virginia Beach, VA · about 27 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics
Universal Laboratories - Hampton
Hampton, VA · about 28 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, metals, minerals and other inorganics, disinfection byproducts
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 VirginiaZIP codes in Cape Charles
Which ZIP codes are in Cape Charles: Census 2020 relationship files. Which utilities serve them, and how many people: EPA SDWIS and EPA’s service area map. Each utility’s results: EPA UCMR 5, EPA SDWIS, and EPA’s and the state’s compliance monitoring, as its report lists them. How they are measured: methodology. Certified labs: DCLS, drinking water laboratories with certification detail; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer.
Near Cape Charles
Towns nearby with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read Town of Cape Charles’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- About Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)What it does to health, where it comes from, and the certification claim that addresses it.About Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water