Lead in Drinking Water

A joint statement by the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority (RWSA), the Albemarle County Service Authority (ACSA), and the City of Charlottesville (City)

Drinking water has recently been the topic in the national and local news. We wish to assure our customers and the community that RWSA, ACSA, and the City are committed to providing safe, high-quality water.

Protecting public health is a core part of what we do, and so we work closely with each other, the Virginia Department of Health, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, and even national research foundations. We have an exceptional track record of providing reliable, top-quality water that meets or does better than all federal and state standards for public health, including lead and copper testing.

Additionally, the City, ACSA and RWSA:

Utilize high quality and consistent sources for our drinking water.
Conduct sampling of customers’ drinking water in accordance with the requirements of the federal Lead and Copper Rule.
Maintain corrosion control (corrosion inhibitor coats the inside of pipes to lessen any potential corrosion).
Deliver water to your home or business in distribution pipes that are free of lead.

Although our water system delivers clean, safe water to our customers’ homes and businesses in lead-free distribution lines, customer-owned service lines and plumbing fixtures may contain lead materials. Our robust corrosion control practice minimizes the risk that lead from plumbing would leach into the water.

Therefore, if a homeowner wishes to test his/her water for lead, we recommend the use of a certified private laboratory, and that the homeowner follow the detailed collection instructions provided by the laboratory. There is one private certified lab in Charlottesville (Aqua Air Laboratories), one in Culpeper (Environmental Systems Service, Ltd.), and several in the Richmond area.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact: