Virginia
Water Quality in the State of Virginia
Virginia is located between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains and is one of the 13 original colonies in the American Revolution. Virginia water supply comes from groundwater, rivers, lakes, reservoirs and bays. Most cities drinking water sources in Virginia are from surface water, such as the Chickahominy River that supplies water to the city of Newport News.
Water Hardness by City
Virginia water hardness is considered moderately hard according to USGS water hardness measures, with an average water hardness of 72 PPM. Some examples of cities with soft water are and Norfolk with a hardness level of 47 PPM and Chesapeake with 41 PPM. The highest hard water number comes from Roanoke at 143 PPM.
For more information on the water hardness in specific cities, please see the table below.
| City | Water Hardness Data |
|---|---|
Virginia Beach 23464 | 23462 | 23454 | 23452 | 23456 | 23455 | 23451 | 23453 | 23457 | 23460 | 23459 | 23461 | 58 PPM (mg/L) or 3 gpg |
Arlington | 120 PPM (mg/L) or 7 gpg |
Norfolk 23503 | 23513 | 23518 | 23505 | 23504 | 23508 | 23502 | 23511 | 23509 | 23510 | 23523 | 23507 | 23517 | 23551 | 47 PPM (mg/L) or 3 gpg |
Chesapeake 23322 | 23320 | 23323 | 23321 | 23324 | 23325 | 41 PPM (mg/L) or 2 gpg |
Newport News 23608 | 23602 | 23606 | 23601 | 23607 | 23605 | 23603 | 81 PPM (mg/L) or 5 gpg |
Fairfax 22030 | 22033 | 22031 | 22032 | 22035 | 127 PPM (mg/L) or 7 gpg |
Richmond 23223 | 23234 | 23225 | 23224 | 23220 | 23235 | 23222 | 23227 | 23236 | 23237 | 23226 | 23221 | 23230 | 23219 | 23173 | 23250 | 64 PPM (mg/L) or 4 gpg |
Roanoke 24018 | 24012 | 24019 | 24017 | 24014 | 24015 | 24013 | 24016 | 24020 | 24011 | 143 PPM (mg/L) or 8 gpg |
Lynchburg 24502 | 24501 | 24503 | 24504 | 48 PPM (mg/L) or 3 gpg |
Blacksburg 24060 | 55 PPM (mg/L) or 3 gpg |
Winchester 22602 | 22601 | 22603 | 79 PPM (mg/L) or 5 gpg |
Harrisonburg 22801 | 22802 | 22807 | 60 PPM (mg/L) or 4 gpg |
Danville 14540 | 14541 | 72 PPM (mg/L) or 4 gpg |
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PPM = Parts Per Million
mg/L = Milligrams Per Liter
gpg = Grains Per Gallon
Farming, Food Processing and Water Hardness
Virginia's top producing industry is agriculture and food processing, and it is the most diverse in the nation. Virginia top agricultural products are Chicken for meat production and eggs, cattle, soybeans, leaf tobacco and dairy products. Chickens bred for meat production, are Virginia's top-grossing agricultural product. They accounted for $935 million of the approximately $70 billion that agriculture contributed to the state's economy last year.
As a great deal of Virginia has water rich in calcium (the primary source of water hardness), many farms and food processing plants experience issues related to scale buildup in their processing equipment, due to large quantities of water flow every day.
In addition, contaminants polluting soil and waterways have increased greatly over the past few decades and there is a greater need for waste and chemical control. Many farmers are looking for eco-friendly solutions that can increase the quality and yield of their crops while saving water. Read more about how HydroFLOW can increase crop yield.
Solutions to your Water Quality Problems
Fixing your water quality issues in the state of Virginia will depend on your specific water source. It is best to test your potable water supply in order to get a better understanding of your water quality. Testing is relatively cheap. The test results will allow you to understand if your potable water has issues that need to be addressed. Common solutions to water contamination problems may include a water filtration system, a reverse osmosis system or other whole home water treatment solutions.
A problem that some Virginia residents will have to deal with is hard water. One old-fashioned, inefficient, expensive and unhealthy method to treat hard water is with a salt-based water softener. Most people don’t realize that if you’re using a water softener you are basically removing calcium and magnesium from your drinking water and adding salt to your diet. In addition, many states are banning the use of salt-based water softeners.
Alternative water treatment solutions such as “water conditioners” have been gaining popularity in recent years because they are cheap to operate and the best eco-friendly solution for hard water. Hydropath technology, which powers the HydroFLOW water conditioners is by far the most efficient and cost-effective eco-friendly solution to deal with hard water problems. To learn more about how HydroFLOW solves the problems created by hard water, please check out our technology page. You might want to read this blog that explains the difference between water conditioners and water softeners: Water Conditioner vs. Water Softener Blog.
