Winchester, Virginia
Winchester, VA Water Quality
Shenandoah River water, treated with chlorine. Winchester meets every standard, but its haloacetic acids averaged 53 ppb against a 60 ppb limit in 2025.
HAA5 avg 53 ppb (limit 60) · TTHM samples to 119 ppb · PFOA and PFOS not detected.
The short answer
Winchester treats North Fork Shenandoah River water at the Percy D. Miller plant and disinfects it with chlorine. The City reports no violations in 2025, and PFOA and PFOS were not detected.
The number to know is haloacetic acids: a 2025 average of 53 ppb against a 60 ppb limit, with samples up to 87. Trihalomethanes averaged 54 ppb, with samples up to 119. Both are chlorination byproducts, and carbon filtration is the standard way to reduce them at home.
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Tell us your Winchester address. We confirm coverage first, then schedule a licensed technician to test at your tap — no charge, no obligation.
What filtration does — and does not
Carbon, catalytic carbon and reverse osmosis solve different problems. Winchester's report points at chlorination byproducts and chlorine taste.
Where Winchester water comes from
One river, one plant, City pipes.
North Fork Shenandoah River
Winchester's drinking water is surface water from the North Fork of the Shenandoah River. VDH's 2020 source water assessment rates it susceptible to contamination, as surface water generally is.
Percy D. Miller treatment plant
Coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation and filtration, then chlorination and fluoridation. The City says the plant can supply up to 10 million gallons a day.
One of the oldest systems in the country
The City calls its water system the third-oldest in the United States. Water reaches homes through more than 125 miles of pipeline, two booster pump stations and six storage tanks.
What the 2025 Winchester report actually says
Limits are fixed. Results are from the City of Winchester 2025 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report. They are system-level figures, not a reading at your tap.
HAA5 averaged 53 ppb (limit 60)
Haloacetic acids form when chlorine reacts with natural organic matter in river water. Winchester's 2025 average was 53 ppb against the 60 ppb limit, with samples from 19 to 87 ppb. No violation.
TTHM averaged 54 ppb (limit 80)
Total trihalomethanes, the other main chlorination byproduct, averaged 54 ppb with samples from 14 to 119 ppb. Compliance is judged on the average, so no violation.
Free chlorine 1.84 mg/L
Winchester disinfects with chlorine. The residual averaged 1.84 mg/L (0.7 to 2.7) against a 4 mg/L limit. It is the taste and smell most homeowners notice.
PFOA and PFOS not detected
The City's 2025 PFAS monitoring found PFOA and PFOS non-detect. The report compares them with 4.0 ppt federal levels for each.
Lead: one high result
June 2024 sampling put lead at under 2.5 ppb at the 90th percentile, with results from 0 to 15.5 ppb. One result was over the 15 ppb action level. Copper was 0.175 ppm at the 90th percentile, none over.
Nitrate 1.50 mg/L
Well under the 10 mg/L limit. Fluoride was 0.51 mg/L and barium 0.035 mg/L. Turbidity peaked at 0.10 NTU.
Winchester next to Harrisonburg and Manassas
Harrisonburg, up the Shenandoah Valley, draws on two river sources and reports hardness from soft to hard. Manassas uses a reservoir and reports trihalomethanes as its main byproduct. Winchester's river water puts haloacetic acids closest to their limit, so carbon filtration matters more here than a softener.
Where these figures come from
Everything on this page traces to the City of Winchester.
- City of Winchester — 2025 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report (PDF) — source, treatment, byproducts, chlorine, PFAS, lead and copper, and the 2025 coliform assessment.
- City of Winchester — Water & Wastewater — system age, pipeline length and plant capacity.
Matching treatment to the finding
Winchester's report supports carbon for byproducts. It does not support a default softener sale.
Carbon for byproducts and chlorine
Activated carbon reduces trihalomethanes, haloacetic acids and chlorine taste. A whole-house carbon stage or an under-sink unit certified for those byproducts is the direct answer to this report.
Reverse osmosis at the kitchen tap
If you want drinking and cooking water with the fewest byproducts, an under-sink RO system with carbon pre-filters covers it and also reduces lead from plumbing.
Lead check in older houses
One home was over the action level in 2024. In an older house with old solder or brass, a tap test tells you whether that applies to you.
Test at the tap first
The City's byproduct figures vary by location and season. A test at your kitchen tap shows what reaches your house.
How the free test works
A licensed technician tests at your kitchen tap, walks the plumbing, and tells you which of the findings above applies to your house and which does not. There is no charge and no obligation.
Seamless Home is the licensed contractor of record on the work that follows. Installation is performed by vetted installing partners engaged as our subcontractors, and the workmanship obligation stays with us. Coverage is confirmed per service area rather than promised as blanket availability.
What a water treatment job with us covers
Installation and replacement of whole-home and point-of-use treatment, specified against what your water actually contains.
Sediment filtration
Installation of the first stage that protects everything downstream of it, sized to the service line and the household draw.
Softening
Installation of ion-exchange softening where hardness is the problem, including the drain connection the plumbing code treats as indirect waste.
Carbon filtration
Installation of carbon stages for taste, odour and disinfection by-products, specified from your utility's own water quality report.
Reverse osmosis
Point-of-use installation at the kitchen sink where the target is dissolved solids rather than whole-home flow.
Disinfection
Installation of UV or equivalent treatment where the supply is a private well or is otherwise not continuously disinfected.
System replacement
Replacing equipment that has reached the end of its service life, including the discharge and air gap details an inspector looks at.
This is installation and replacement work, specified from a published water quality report or a test of your supply — not from a sales chart. Coverage is confirmed per service area rather than promised as blanket availability.
What the work actually looks like
Treatment equipment is plumbing. Most of the job is the connection, the drain and the code detail behind it.
Winchester water, answered plainly
Where does Winchester's water come from?+
The North Fork of the Shenandoah River. The City treats it at the Percy D. Miller plant and distributes it through more than 125 miles of pipeline, two booster pump stations and six storage tanks.
What are haloacetic acids and why do they matter in Winchester?+
Haloacetic acids (HAA5) are byproducts that form when chlorine reacts with natural organic matter. Winchester's 2025 average was 53 ppb against a 60 ppb limit, with samples up to 87 ppb. The system met the standard. Carbon filtration reduces them if you want lower levels at your tap.
Is Winchester's water safe to drink?+
The City reports full compliance with state and federal standards and no violations in 2025. The byproduct averages are close to their limits, which is the reason some homeowners add carbon filtration.
Is there PFAS in Winchester's water?+
The City's 2025 monitoring found PFOA and PFOS non-detect.
Is Winchester's water hard?+
The 2025 report does not publish a hardness figure, so we don't quote one. A tap test measures it before anyone recommends a softener.
Where do these figures come from?+
From the City of Winchester 2025 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report (prepared with VDH, dated April 2026) and the City's Water & Wastewater page. Third-party aggregators are not used.
Related resources
Home water purification and treatment
The national service page behind this one.
Learn more →Harrisonburg water quality
Two river sources and hardness from soft to hard.
Learn more →Manassas water quality
Lake Manassas water with trihalomethanes near the limit.
Learn more →Charlottesville water quality
Another Virginia surface-water system.
Learn more →All home services
Water, battery, HVAC and solar under one licensed contractor of record.
Learn more →Get a free test at your tap
A licensed technician tests at your kitchen tap and tells you which findings apply to your house — chlorination byproducts, chlorine taste or your own plumbing. No charge, no obligation, and coverage confirmed at your address first.
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