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Wcpsa - Pound

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
2,501 people
Connections
817
Water source
Surface water
Based in
Wise, VA
County
Wise
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

24279

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. 4 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2005 to 2026.

Arsenic: Virginia’s yearly averages per water system, as CDC’s Environmental Public Health Tracking Network publishes them, 2021 to 2023, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), fluoride, chromium (total) and nitrate: EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from March 13, 2012 to Dec. 10, 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

65.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2012 to 2019

2019 average: 24.8 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 65.8 ppb, in 2017, above EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 84 ppb. In 2019, the latest year on file, its four samples averaged 24.8 ppb. EPA recorded violations for haloacetic acids (HAA5) at this utility in 2014, 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

4.0ppb

90th percentile, 2024 to 2026

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 4.0 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 limits2

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

64.3ppb

Highest yearly average, 2012 to 2019

2019 average: 39.3 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 64.3 ppb, in 2013, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 100 ppb. In 2019, the latest year on file, its four samples averaged 39.3 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

1.0ppm

Highest yearly average, 2012 to 2019

2019, one sample: 0.67 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.0 ppm, in 2014, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2019, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.67 ppm.

What handles it

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
Stage 1 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts RuleTreatment was not run by a certified operator as required.EPA: Treatment Technique No Certif. OperatorDec. 1, 2020—Resolved
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2018 to March 31, 20180.065 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, 20170.066 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, 20170.067 MG/LResolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 1 monitoring or reporting violation 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, chromium (total) and nitrate come from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Wcpsa - Pound’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 March 13, 2012 to Dec. 10, 2019.

Testing your own tap

Wcpsa - Pound’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 Wcpsa - Pound serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Environmental Monitoring, Inc.

    Norton, VA · about 8 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics

    (276) 679-6544

  • Pace Analytical Services, LLC - Kentucky - Pikeville

    Pikeville, KY · about 31 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate

    (270) 824-2229

  • The Town of Lebanon Water - Wastewater Laboratory

    Lebanon, VA · about 32 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (276) 889-7206

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 VA1195650. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Nearby

All Virginia utilities

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