Alexandria Tap Water: Your Questions Answered (2026)

Yes, Alexandria tap water is safe to drink by the legal standard: it meets every federal limit that applies to it.

That short answer tends to raise more questions, so this article is built around the ones Alexandria residents ask most. Each answer sticks to what the public records show, from the EPA and from the Environmental Working Group (EWG), which publishes stricter health-based guidelines.

Who actually supplies Alexandria's water?

This is where things get confusing, because the same water shows up under two names.

EWG lists Alexandria under Virginia American Water (Alexandria), with water from the Washington Aqueduct, drawn from the Potomac River and chlorinated. The EPA's record files the system as "Alexandria, City of." It is one supply described by two databases, not two different waters. Your water bill will tell you exactly who you pay.

According to the EPA record, the system:

• Uses surface water
• Serves roughly 159,200 people
• Has 26,761 service connections
• Has no violations on file

The figures in this article cover ZIP codes 22301, 22302, 22304, 22305, 22311 and 22314, plus surrounding Alexandria areas.

Why does Alexandria water taste like chlorine?

Because chlorine is the disinfectant. EWG's listing describes Alexandria's Potomac River supply as chlorinated, and that is a deliberate choice. River water needs strong disinfection so it stays free of germs all the way from the treatment plant to your faucet.

Some of its Northern Virginia neighbors served by Fairfax Water use chloramines instead. Alexandria's listing says chlorine. If you notice a pool-like smell or taste, that is the most likely reason, and it is a sign the water is carrying its disinfectant as intended.

What are bromodichloromethane and dichloroacetic acid?

They are the two biggest items on EWG's list for Alexandria, and both are disinfection byproducts. When chlorine meets natural organic matter in river water, it forms trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids. Much of that happens in the pipes after the water leaves treatment, so levels vary by sampling point and date.

• Bromodichloromethane, one of the trihalomethanes, was detected at 11.3 ppb. EWG's guideline is 0.06 ppb, so that is 188 times over. EWG links it to cancer and to harm to fetal growth and development.
• Dichloroacetic acid, a haloacetic acid, was detected at 12.1 ppb against an EWG guideline of 0.2 ppb, or 60 times over. EWG links it to cancer and reproductive harm.

Both readings are within federal legal limits. They are the tradeoff that comes with disinfecting surface water, which nobody would want to skip.

Is there lead in Alexandria tap water?

A small amount, and it is measured differently from everything else. Utilities collect samples from taps inside homes and report the 90th percentile result.

For Alexandria, that figure is 0.5 ppb. In plain terms, nine in ten homes tested came in below 0.5 ppb, and one in ten came in above it.

Here is how that compares:

• EPA action level: 10 ppb, lowered from 15 ppb and in force November 2027. Alexandria is far below it.
• EWG health standard: 0.2 ppb. Alexandria's 0.5 ppb is 2.5 times that.

EWG links lead to harm to the brain and nervous system. Lead usually comes from service lines, solder and fixtures between the main and your faucet, not from the river. That means your own home can read higher or lower than the citywide figure.

Does Alexandria water have PFAS or chromium-6?

Yes, at low levels. EWG's listing shows one PFAS compound, 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonic acid, at 5 times its guideline, and chromium-6 above its 0.02 ppb guideline by 4 times. EWG links that PFAS compound to cancer and to immune and developmental effects, and links chromium-6 to stomach cancer.

The EPA's most recent PFAS monitoring round (UCMR5, 2023 to 2025) found 3 PFAS compounds in this supply. All three were below EWG's standards, and none has a federal limit:

PFAS	Found	EWG standard
PFPeA	6.4 ppt	1 ppb
PFHxA	4.9 ppt	1 ppb
PFBS	3.5 ppt	2 ppb

If it's legal, why is it "188 times over" anything?

Because the two numbers answer different questions. Federal limits are enforceable rules, and the EPA sets them after weighing health risk against what treatment can achieve and what it costs. EWG sets its standards, in its own words, "based only on protecting health and does not consider technical feasibility or the cost of water treatment." The EWG standards cited here were updated in February 2025.

So a multiple of an EWG guideline is not a violation, and it does not mean anything went wrong at treatment. It measures the distance between legal water and the most protective target one health group recommends. Plenty of households use that as context, nothing more.

Should I filter, and what kind of filter makes sense?

That depends on what you care about. Two common routes:

• Carbon pitchers or faucet filters. Inexpensive and good for chlorine taste and odor, which is the most noticeable thing in Alexandria water. For anything else, check the manufacturer's published test data.
• Under-sink reverse osmosis. A fine membrane sends rejected material to the drain. It is a common way to reduce dissolved contaminants, such as disinfection byproducts, at the tap, with a higher upfront cost and scheduled filter changes.

The Sanavia Hydra is a tankless under-sink reverse osmosis system. In independent accredited lab testing of an Arlington, VA home's tap water, total trihalomethanes fell from 58 ppb to 2.79 ppb after the Hydra, a 95% reduction. The lab report is here. That was one home's water, so your results depend on your own tap.

How do I find out what's in my own tap?

Citywide data is an average across many buildings, and lead in particular depends on your plumbing. Sanavia offers a free water test, mailed anywhere in the U.S. or done in person in Northern Virginia.

For every contaminant and PFAS compound on record, see the full Alexandria, VA water quality report.