City's water quality meets all State and Federal requirements
PFAS undetectable in testing, acceptable levels of lead and other substances
The City of Williamsburg’s Department of Public Works and Utilities has released its 2025 Water Quality Report, showing that the city’s drinking water met all Virginia Department of Health and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations last year. According to the report, there were no violations of any state or federal drinking water standards during the 2025 calendar year. Officials noted that testing covered far more substances than those listed in the report’s water quality table, which includes only substances for which regulatory limits have been established.
Testing results cited in the report show that key measurements stayed within safe limits. Lead and copper, last tested in August 2023, were both below the levels that would require action. Byproducts of the disinfection process were within allowable limits, as were fluoride and chlorine, which are used to control microorganisms. Testing conducted in December 2025 for PFAS, a group of manmade chemicals, found none of the six regulated compounds at detectable levels. The report states that water is tested for several types of substances, including metals, minerals, radioactive materials, microorganisms and disinfection byproducts, with testing done anywhere from continuously to once every few years, depending on past results.
The report identifies Waller Mill Reservoir as the city’s primary water source, a 350-acre reservoir holding 1.5 billion gallons of water that has been in operation since 1945. The city owns a significant portion of the surrounding watershed. During drought, the supply may be supplemented by groundwater from a well at Waller Mill Park and by raw water from Newport News Waterworks under a long-term agreement. A regional planning document cited in the report rates the reservoir as relatively high in susceptibility to contamination, a characteristic shared by other regional reservoirs, while the deep well is rated as low in susceptibility.
The Waller Mill Water Treatment Plant is staffed around the clock, according to the report, and licensed professionals conduct daily tests on both raw and treated water, with some samples sent to certified outside laboratories. Because lead and copper levels have consistently tested low, the city is required to test for those metals only once every three years, with the next round scheduled for 2026.
The report also describes how the city treats water before it reaches homes. The process includes filtering out cloudiness and organisms, using chlorine to kill bacteria and viruses, adding fluoride for dental health, treating for taste and odor, and adjusting the water's chemistry to protect pipes. Separately, new federal rules finalized in April 2024 will require water systems nationwide to test for PFAS, a group of manmade chemicals, by 2027 and fix any problems by 2029. Williamsburg's own testing for the chemicals in December 2025 found none at detectable levels.
