Richmond
Richmond, VA water profile — supply sources, drought status, wastewater reuse, and the key water issues facing the city.
richmond, city of
surface water (rivers/reservoirs) · local government · PWSID VA4760100
Below EPA's 15 ppb lead action level at last testing.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) · 2026 Q1
Richmond is a mid-sized city and the 4th-largest in Virginia, home to roughly 220,289 residents. Richmond's drinking water comes largely from the same regional sources that serve Virginia: Potomac River, James River, and coastal aquifers.
As elsewhere in Virginia, the central challenge is saltwater intrusion. Hampton Roads' SWIFT project injects purified water into the Potomac Aquifer to fight both depletion and land subsidence — a leading East Coast reuse effort.
Virginia reuses an estimated 21% of its treated wastewater and maintains established reuse programs; Richmond tracks severe to extreme drought conditions on the U.S. Drought Monitor scale.
Explore the Virginia profile for statewide context, or dig into the water issues shaping Richmond below.
At a glance
- Population ~220,289 (4th-largest in Virginia)
- Primary sources: Potomac River, James River, and coastal aquifers
- Drought: severe to extreme conditions
- State reuse rate: ~21% of wastewater
Statewide drought history
% of Virginia in severe+ drought (Extreme (D3) now).
Source: U.S. Drought Monitor
Common questions
Is tap water safe in Richmond?
Richmond's largest water system, RICHMOND, CITY OF, serves about 229,395 people. EPA records show 1 health-based violation(s) since 2016 and a most-recent 90th-percentile lead level of 3.6 ppb (EPA action level is 15 ppb). Always check your own provider's annual Consumer Confidence Report.
Where does Richmond get its water?
RICHMOND, CITY OF draws primarily from surface water (rivers/reservoirs), part of Virginia's supply from Potomac River, James River, coastal aquifers.
Related water issues
Saltwater Intrusion
As coastal aquifers are over-pumped and seas rise, saltwater pushes inland and contaminates freshwater supplies for cities from Florida to California.
ExploreAging Infrastructure
Much of America's water infrastructure is decades past its design life, leaking trillions of gallons a year and demanding hundreds of billions in reinvestment.
ExplorePotable Reuse
Advanced purification turns treated wastewater into water that meets or exceeds drinking-water standards — increasingly essential in water-stressed regions.
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