City of Richmond Water
What the City of Richmond’s 2025 Consumer Confidence Report says about the water reaching your home, and what you can change once it gets there.
Richmond reports 100% compliance with all federal and state Safe Drinking Water Act contaminant limits in 2025, based on more than 55,000 tests. We don’t sell filtration because the water is unsafe. We help homeowners change what they’d rather not have at every tap and in the glass.
Where your water comes from
Richmond’s water comes from the James River and is treated at the city’s plant on the riverbank, first built in 1924. The plant can produce up to 132 million gallons a day and averaged 64.2 million in 2025, serving about 75,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers.
It also supplies parts of Henrico, Chesterfield, Hanover, Goochland and Powhatan counties. If you live in Chesterfield or Henrico, some of your water may come from this plant, but your county’s own report is the one that covers your home.
Hardness
Richmond is the only one of the four local systems whose 2025 report lists hardness: 81 ppm, about 4.7 grains per gallon. On the U.S. Geological Survey’s scale, that’s moderately hard, not extreme. The report also lists pH 7.79 and total dissolved solids of 149 ppm, under EPA’s suggested 500 ppm.
Chloramine in Richmond water
Richmond’s highest running annual average for chloramine in 2025 was 3.8 ppm, under EPA’s 4.0 ppm limit and the highest of the four local systems. Monthly readings ranged from 2.9 to 5.1 ppm. EPA’s limit applies to the running average, so monthly readings above 4 aren’t a violation.
Chloramine keeps water protected as it travels through the city’s 1,200 miles of water lines. It’s doing its job when it reaches your house, and it’s also what can give tap and shower water a chlorine or pool-like smell and taste.
2025 figures
As published in the City of Richmond 2025 Consumer Confidence Report.
| Chloramines | 3.8 ppm highest running annual average (EPA limit 4.0). Individual readings ranged 2.9–5.1 ppm. |
|---|---|
| TTHMs | 39 ppb, individual results 13–59 ppb (EPA limit 80). |
| HAA5 | 24 ppb, individual results up to 45 ppb (EPA limit 60). |
| PFAS (“forever chemicals”) | All 29 PFAS tested under EPA’s UCMR 5 program in 2024 were non-detect. |
| Lead | No home tested exceeded the action level. The city routinely tests lead at 50 locations across its service area. |
| Copper | 0.109 ppm at the 90th percentile; no home above the action level. |
| Hardness | 81 ppm, about 4.7 grains per gallon (moderately hard). |
| Sodium | 14.3 ppm. |
| Other | pH 7.79; total dissolved solids 149 ppm (EPA suggested limit 500); alkalinity 51.9 ppm; sulfate 42.7 ppm; chloride 15.2 ppm. |
| Fluoride | 0.20 ppm (EPA limit 4.0). |
| Report coverage | Richmond’s 2025 report covers everything listed here plus hardness, pH, dissolved solids and E. coli testing. |
Source City of Richmond 2025 Consumer Confidence ReportCity of Richmond, Lead Free WaterEPA, Chloramines in Drinking Water
What this means for your home
If you’d like less chlorine smell and taste at every faucet, shower and bath, whole-home catalytic carbon at your main water line is designed to reduce chloramine before water reaches any tap.
For drinking water, optional reverse osmosis adds a separate, dedicated faucet beside your kitchen faucet. Richmond’s 2024 testing for PFAS (“forever chemicals”) found none of the 29 compounds tested. Many homeowners still choose reverse osmosis for drinking water, coffee and ice, and research shows reverse osmosis reduces microplastics.
Read the research Peer-reviewed review on membrane technologies
See the system and pricingDo Richmond homes need a softener?
At 81 ppm, about 4.7 grains per gallon, Richmond’s water is moderately hard. Some households never notice it; others want less spotting and scale. A softener is available if you want one, but we don’t add it automatically.
Read the softener guideReady to learn what makes sense for your home?
Tell us a little about your home and we’ll help you determine the right next step.