Is Portsmouth, City of Tap Water Safe? Quality Report

Water source: Surface water
Ownership: Local government

Compliance record

Formal violations the EPA has on file for this supplier. A health-based violation means a contaminant limit or a required treatment was breached; the rest are monitoring or reporting failures — still violations, but not a measured health risk.

health-based violations

violations on file

still open

Violation	Type	Status	Period
TT	Health-based	Resolved	2003-08-01 → 2003-08-31
TT	Health-based	Resolved	2003-08-01 → 2003-08-31
TT	Health-based	Resolved	2003-08-01 → 2003-08-31
TT	Health-based	Resolved	2003-08-01 → 2003-08-31
Other	Monitoring	Unaddressed	2025-07-01
MR	Monitoring	Unaddressed	2024-10-01
MR	Monitoring	Resolved	2017-01-01 → 2017-12-31
MR	Monitoring	Resolved	2017-01-01 → 2017-12-31
MR	Monitoring	Resolved	2017-01-01 → 2017-12-31
MR	Monitoring	Resolved	2017-01-01 → 2017-12-31

Other contaminants detected

Each bar shows the measured level as a share of the EPA limit: green is well under, amber is close to it, red is over. For lead and copper the limit applies to exactly the 90th-percentile figure shown, so red there means a real exceedance. For everything else the limit applies to a running annual average while the figure is the 95th percentile of this system's samples — over 100% is worth reading, but is not by itself a violation. Where a single sample came in higher than that percentile, it is noted under the bar. Formal violations are listed separately.

Contaminant	Level vs EPA limit	Detection rate	Source	Period
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)	52.039 µg/L 87% of the EPA limit 60 µg/L worst single sample: 59 µg/L	268/268	SYR4	2012–2019
TTHM	56.886 µg/L 71% of the EPA limit 80 µg/L worst single sample: 71 µg/L	267/267	SYR4	2012–2019
Copper	201.05 µg/L 15% of the EPA limit 1300 µg/L worst single sample: 750 µg/L	120/122	SYR4	2015–2018
Bromodichloromethane	13.18 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 14.41 µg/L	101/101	SYR4	2012–2019
Chloroform	40.29 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 44.4 µg/L	101/101	SYR4	2012–2019
Dibromochloromethane	2.982 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 3.13 µg/L	100/101	SYR4	2012–2019
Dichloroacetic Acid	20.1165 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 24.81 µg/L	90/90	SYR4	2016–2019
Trichloroacetic Acid	25.8185 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 29.03 µg/L	90/90	SYR4	2016–2019
Monobromoacetic Acid	6.865 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 18.62 µg/L	86/90	SYR4	2016–2019
Fluoride	1206 µg/L 30% of the EPA limit 4000 µg/L worst single sample: 1270 µg/L	37/37	SYR4	2012–2019
Dibromoacetic Acid	2.804 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 3.13 µg/L	25/90	SYR4	2016–2019
Lead	0.0 mg/L 0% of the EPA limit 0.0150 mg/L	19/19	LCR	2021
Lead	18.4 µg/L 123% of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 15 µg/L worst single sample: 32 µg/L	18/123	SYR4	2015–2018
Barium	27.7 µg/L 1.4% of the EPA limit 2000 µg/L worst single sample: 28 µg/L	7/7	SYR4	2012–2019
Combined Radium (-226 And -228)	0.7585 pCi/L 15% of the EPA limit 5 pCi/L worst single sample: 0.7900 pCi/L	4/5	SYR4	2012–2019
Nitrate	120 µg/L 1.2% of the EPA limit 10000 µg/L	4/6	SYR4	2012–2016
Gross Beta Particle Activity	3.39 pCi/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 3.4 pCi/L	3/3	SYR4	2016–2019
Nitrate-Nitrite	120 µg/L 1.2% of the EPA limit 10000 µg/L	3/7	SYR4	2013–2019
Gross Alpha, Excl. Radon And U	1.7 pCi/L 11% of the EPA limit 15 pCi/L	2/4	SYR4	2012–2019
Atrazine	0.1000 µg/L 3.3% of the EPA limit 3 µg/L	1/6	SYR4	2012–2019
Combined Uranium	1.1771 µg/L 3.9% of the EPA limit 30 µg/L	1/6	SYR4	2012–2019
Di(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate	1.1 µg/L 18% of the EPA limit 6 µg/L	1/6	SYR4	2012–2019
Monochloroacetic Acid	1 µg/L No EPA limit set	1/90	SYR4	2016–2019

90 contaminants tested, none detected

1,1,1-Trichloroethane1,1,2-Trichloroethane1,1-Dichloroethylene1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene1,2-DIBROMO-3-CHLOROPROPANE1,2-Dichloroethane1,2-Dichloropropane11Cl-PF3OUdS2,3,7,8-TCDD2,4,5-TP2,4-D4:2 Fts6:2 Fts8:2 Fts9Cl-PF3ONSAdonaAntimony, TotalArsenicBhc-GammaBenzeneBenzo(A)PyreneBeryllium, TotalBromoformChlorobenzeneCyanideCadmiumCarbofuranCarbon TetrachlorideChlordaneChromiumDichloromethaneDalaponDi(2-ethylhexyl) AdipateDinosebDiquatEthylene DibromideEndothallEndrinEthylbenzeneGlyphosateHexachlorobenzeneHfpo-DaHeptachlorHeptachlor EpoxideHexachlorocyclopentadieneLassoMercuryMethoxychlorNetfosaaNfdhaNmefosaaNitriteOxamylPfbaPFBSPfdaPfdoaPfeesaPfhpaPfhpsPfhxaPFHXSPfmbaPfmpaPFNAPFOAPFOSPfpeaPfpesPftaPftrdaPfunaPentachlorophenolPicloramSeleniumSimazineStyreneTetrachloroethyleneThallium, TotalTolueneTotal Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB)ToxapheneTrichloroethyleneVinyl ChlorideXylenes, Totalcis-1,2-DichloroethyleneLithiumO-DichlorobenzeneP-Dichlorobenzenetrans-1,2-Dichloroethylene

Utility contact

Contact: JOHNSON, MICHAEL
Phone: 757-393-8524
Email: [email protected]

Frequently asked questions about Portsmouth, City of

Is Portsmouth, City of tap water safe to drink?

EPA monitoring detected 23 contaminants in Portsmouth, City of's water. A detection isn't the same as a violation — most levels are within federal limits. See each level and source above, and the utility's annual Consumer Confidence Report for its official compliance status.

What contaminants were detected in Portsmouth, City of's water?

EPA monitoring detected Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5), TTHM, Copper, Bromodichloromethane, Chloroform, and others. The full list with the level and data source for each is above.

How many people does Portsmouth, City of serve?

Portsmouth, City of reports serving 97,915 people in Virginia, per its EPA record.

Has Portsmouth, City of had any water quality violations?

The EPA has 47 violations on file for Portsmouth, City of, of which 4 are health-based (a contaminant limit or required treatment was breached) and 2 remain open. The rest are monitoring or reporting failures.

Where does this data come from?

Every figure is official EPA drinking-water monitoring — the Lead & Copper Rule, the UCMR-5 nationwide testing program, and the EPA Six-Year Review — not our own testing. Each number is labelled with its source and period.