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1,552 Virginia water systems have inventoried 2,405,008 service lines for EPA. 3,623 (0.2%) are confirmed lead and 529,683 (22%) are still of unknown material. Below: every large or city-linked Virginia utility ranked by lead lines.
Virginia water systems reported 3,623 lead service lines and 10,233 galvanized lines requiring replacement as of Q2 2026 — 0.2% of the 2,405,008 lines inventoried and 0.2% of the national lead total, ranking #30 of 51. RICHMOND, CITY OF reports the most in the state (1,956).
RICHMOND, CITY OF (1,956), ALEXANDRIA, CITY OF (690), NORFOLK, CITY OF (590) lead the list; 24 Virginia systems report at least one lead line in total.
Find your utility in the table below, then check its published service line inventory (most utilities post an address-lookup map) or call the number on your water bill. Utilities must notify customers whose line is lead, galvanized-requiring-replacement or unknown. You can also test the pipe entering your home: lead is soft, dull gray, non-magnetic and turns shiny when scratched.
Under EPA's Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, systems must replace lead and galvanized-requiring-replacement lines within 10 years starting in 2027; systems with very high counts can receive longer deadlines. Ask your utility for its replacement plan and whether it covers the homeowner-owned portion.
Use a filter certified to NSF/ANSI 53 for lead for drinking and cooking, flush the tap after water has sat for hours, never use hot tap water for drinking or infant formula, and confirm your actual level with a certified lab test.
Source: EPA SDWIS Service Line Inventory, Q2 2026 snapshot (updated 2026-08-18). Counts are service lines, not people.
1,545 of the 1,552 Virginia systems in EPA's Q2 2026 report have filed line counts. The 3,623 confirmed lead lines and 10,233 galvanized lines requiring replacement come from 24 systems — 1.6% of those reporting — so lead pipe in Virginia is concentrated in a small share of systems. 529,683 lines (22%) are still of unknown material, close to the national share of 22%.
The unknown category is not a footnote. Under EPA's Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR), every community water system had to submit an initial service line inventory by October 16, 2024, and lines whose material could not be documented were reported as unknown. The Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI), finalized in October 2024, require systems to keep identifying those lines, to notify customers served by a lead, galvanized-requiring-replacement or unknown line, and to replace lead and galvanized-requiring-replacement lines — generally within 10 years of the rule's November 1, 2027 compliance date. The LCRI also lowers the lead action level from 15 to 10 ppb. For Virginia, that makes the 529,683 unknown lines (22%) the pool from which future confirmed-lead counts will be drawn.
Among the 1 Virginia utilities linked to a city report on this site, 1 reports at least one lead or galvanized-requiring-replacement line. The largest — RICHMOND, CITY OF (233,655 served) — reports 1,956 lead + 28 GRR respectively.
To check your own line, start with your utility: most Virginia systems publish their inventory as an address-lookup map or table, and the annual Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) names the system and its lead results. If your address shows lead, galvanized or unknown, the utility is required to have notified you; if you cannot find it, ask for the service line material on record. You can also inspect the pipe where it enters the house — lead is dull gray, soft enough to scratch shiny with a coin, and does not attract a magnet.
EPA's rule text and timelines are on its Lead and Copper Rule Improvements page. While your line is unverified, our best water filters for lead guide covers NSF/ANSI 53-certified options, and the lead in drinking water guide explains testing and health thresholds.
EPA SDWIS Service Line Inventory, Q2 2026 snapshot (updated 2026-08-18); regulatory dates from EPA's LCRR/LCRI pages.
Community systems serving 50,000+ people plus systems linked to a city report on this site (25 shown). State totals above include every reporting system.
| # | Water system | Status | Lead | GRR | Unknown | Total lines | City report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RICHMOND, CITY OF VA4760100 · 233,655 served | Lead service lines present | 1,956 | 28 | 67,626 | 83,254 | Richmond → |
| 2 | ALEXANDRIA, CITY OF VA6510010 · 159,200 served | Lead service lines present | 690 | 97 | 18,266 | 26,945 | |
| 3 | NORFOLK, CITY OF VA3710100 · 234,220 served | Lead service lines present | 590 | 290 | 14,152 | 71,208 | |
| 4 | LYNCHBURG, CITY OF VA5680200 · 80,995 served | Lead service lines present | 134 | 109 | 25,169 | 26,404 | |
| 5 | PORTSMOUTH, CITY OF VA3740600 · 97,915 served | Lead service lines present | 30 | 0 | 34,359 | 36,551 | |
| 6 | FAIRFAX COUNTY WATER AUTHORITY VA6059501 · 1,121,613 served | Lead service lines present | 16 | 2 | 115 | 290,219 | |
| 7 | PWCSA - WEST VA6153251 · 136,409 served | Lead service lines present | 5 | 6 | 6,247 | 45,220 | |
| 8 | HENRICO COUNTY WATER SYSTEM VA4087125 · 330,000 served | Lead service lines present | 2 | 3 | 57,120 | 108,187 | |
| 9 | CITY OF CHESAPEAKE - NORTHWEST RIVER SYS VA3550051 · 165,240 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 9 | 42,895 | 69,460 | |
| 10 | VIRGINIA BEACH, CITY OF VA3810900 · 437,994 served | No lead service lines reported | 0 | 0 | 17,317 | 135,054 | |
| 11 | PWCSA - EAST VA6153600 · 168,747 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 6 | 12,675 | 54,277 | |
| 12 | SUFFOLK, CITY OF VA3800805 · 69,822 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 23 | 12,136 | 30,439 | |
| 13 | NEWPORT NEWS, CITY OF VA3700500 · 407,300 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 3,160 | 9,546 | 134,937 | |
| 14 | HARRISONBURG, CITY OF VA2660345 · 61,000 served | Many lines still unverified | 0 | 0 | 7,890 | 16,589 | |
| 15 | HANOVER SUBURBAN WATER SYSTEM VA4085398 · 57,931 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 4 | 6,781 | 24,251 | |
| 16 | DALE CITY VA6153625 · 72,062 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 4 | 4,598 | 20,895 | |
| 17 | LEESBURG, TOWN OF VA6107300 · 65,028 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 55 | 581 | 16,929 | |
| 18 | CHESTERFIELD CO CENTRAL WATER SYSTEM VA4041845 · 389,897 served | No lead service lines reported | 0 | 0 | 0 | 126,926 | |
| 19 | LOUDOUN WATER - CENTRAL SYSTEM VA6107350 · 334,808 served | No lead service lines reported | 0 | 0 | 0 | 92,646 | |
| 20 | ARLINGTON COUNTY VA6013010 · 215,000 served | No lead service lines reported | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37,117 | |
| 21 | WESTERN VIRGINIA WATER AUTHORITY VA2770900 · 182,700 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 1 | 0 | 68,287 | |
| 22 | STAFFORD COUNTY UTILITIES VA6179100 · 123,684 served | No lead service lines reported | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40,443 | |
| 23 | SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY UTILITIES VA6177300 · 95,686 served | No lead service lines reported | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34,600 | |
| 24 | ACSA URBAN AREA VA2003053 · 77,408 served | No lead service lines reported | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,090 | |
| 25 | JCSA - CENTRAL SYSTEM VA3095490 · 57,726 served | No lead service lines reported | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24,914 |
A lead or unknown service line means lead can enter water after it leaves the treatment plant, so city-level test results understate what reaches your tap. Filter drinking and cooking water with an NSF/ANSI 53 lead-certified system, and see the lead in drinking water guide or Virginia city water reports.
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