Richmond is built on the fall line of the James River, where the Piedmont meets the Coastal Plain. The river’s famous Class III and IV rapids run directly through downtown — a striking natural feature for a state capital. It’s also where Richmond gets its drinking water.
The City of Richmond’s Department of Public Utilities draws from the James River, treating water at a facility that serves approximately 230,000 people in the city proper plus wholesale customers in surrounding counties. The James is Virginia’s largest river by watershed area, draining 10,000 square miles from the Allegheny Mountains to the Chesapeake Bay.
The James River: Virginia’s Lifeline and Burden
By the time the James reaches Richmond, it has collected runoff from agricultural Shenandoah Valley, the Blue Ridge forests, Piedmont horse country, and an industrial corridor that includes Lynchburg and several smaller manufacturing towns.
The river has improved enormously since the 1970s, when it was severely polluted by industrial discharge and municipal sewage. The Kepone disaster of the 1970s — when the Allied Chemical facility in Hopewell discharged the pesticide Kepone into the James, contaminating 100 miles of river and shutting down commercial fishing — remains one of the worst environmental contamination events in Virginia history. Kepone persists in river sediment to this day.
Modern water quality challenges are less dramatic but persistent. Agricultural nutrient loading contributes to Chesapeake Bay degradation downstream. Bacteria from livestock operations and failing septic systems in rural upstream communities affect source water quality, particularly during rain events.
Coal Ash: An Upstream Threat
Dominion Energy operates several coal-fired power plants along the James River and its tributaries upstream of Richmond. The coal ash ponds at these facilities — particularly the Bremo Power Station and the now-closed Chesapeake Energy Center — contain heavy metals including arsenic, selenium, mercury, and boron.
Virginia’s coal ash management has been under increasing scrutiny since the national attention drawn by the 2008 Kingston, Tennessee spill and the 2014 Dan River spill in North Carolina. The Virginia General Assembly passed legislation in 2019 requiring Dominion to close all coal ash ponds, either by recycling the ash or capping it in lined landfills.
The closures are underway, but the legacy contamination — ash ponds that have been leaching into groundwater and surface water for decades — remains a concern. Monitoring wells near several facilities have shown elevated levels of arsenic and other metals. Whether these contaminants reach Richmond’s intake at concentrations that matter depends on dilution, river flow, and the specific transport pathway.
Richmond’s treatment plant uses conventional coagulation and filtration that effectively removes particulate metals. But dissolved contaminants in source water can be harder to capture, and the treatment plant must remain calibrated for whatever the James delivers.
Combined Sewer Overflows
Richmond operates one of Virginia’s largest combined sewer systems. During rain events, the combined flow of stormwater and sewage exceeds treatment capacity, and the overflow discharges directly into the James River through over 30 outfall points.
The city has been under a consent decree to reduce CSO volume and has invested hundreds of millions in storage tunnels, treatment expansion, and green infrastructure. The James River CSO Tunnel — a deep rock tunnel designed to capture and store overflow for later treatment — has been a major infrastructure project.
Despite these investments, CSO discharges still occur during significant rain events. The E. coli levels in the James River through Richmond can spike dramatically after storms, closing the river to recreational use until levels subside. For the water treatment plant, rain-event source water quality degradation means increased treatment intensity and cost.
Lead in the Distribution System
Richmond’s water distribution system includes infrastructure from the late 1800s. Lead service lines and lead-soldered copper pipes are present throughout the city’s older neighborhoods — particularly in Church Hill, Oregon Hill, Jackson Ward, and the Fan District.
The city adds orthophosphate for corrosion control and has maintained lead levels below the federal action level at the 90th percentile. But environmental justice advocates have noted that Richmond’s lead infrastructure is concentrated in historically Black neighborhoods that were already disinvested, creating a compounded health burden.
Virginia’s lead service line replacement program is proceeding, with Richmond working through an inventory and prioritized replacement schedule funded in part by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
What Richmond Residents Can Do
Richmond’s treated water meets federal standards, and the utility’s investment in CSO reduction and treatment upgrades has improved system performance. Key considerations:
- Test for lead — especially in pre-1940 homes. Richmond’s historic housing stock almost certainly has lead plumbing.
- Flush your taps for 1-2 minutes before drinking in older homes.
- Review the annual CCR — the Department of Public Utilities publishes detailed water quality data.
- Be aware of CSO events — after heavy rain, the James River carries elevated bacteria; avoid contact until conditions normalize.
- Support Chesapeake Bay restoration — Richmond’s water quality is tied to the broader James River watershed health.
If you’re concerned about your water quality, a certified water treatment professional can help you test your water and recommend the right solution for your home.