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NoVA & DC Plumbing Map

Job · Lead pipes in Virginia

Lead pipes in Northern Virginia

Full map

Northern Virginia has no single lead map like DC's; the federal rule requires every water system to find and replace lead pipes within 10 years, so ask your own utility for its inventory entry.

Revised November 3, 2026 · who makes this map

Cape-style brick and siding house behind a lawn in Arlington County
A house in Arlington County.
Where this differs
PlaceWhat happens thereTurn to
ArlingtonThe county's 2024 inventory found no lead service lines in the county system, and it says the county never used lead for its segment. It notes that homes built before August 1, 1978 may have lead on the owner's side, and that replacement there is voluntary.Sheet 7
AlexandriaVirginia American Water supplies the water. We could not read the utility's lead awareness page, so we cannot say what its inventory shows; ask the utility.Sheet 9
Unincorporated Fairfax CountyFairfax Water supplies the water and runs a lead-free page we could not open. We could confirm only the ownership split: the utility through the meter, you after it.Sheet 13
Town of ViennaThe Town runs its own water system, serving nearly 5,600 customers, about a third of them outside Town limits. We found no lead statement on the pages we could reach.Sheet 14
Town of HerndonThe Town buys water from Fairfax Water and has a Lead and Copper program page. We could not read its contents.Sheet 15
City of Falls ChurchWater lines inside the City are kept up by Fairfax Water. We found no lead inventory page for the City.Sheet 11
City of FairfaxFairfax Water supplies the water. We found no lead page from the City.Sheet 16

What is required, and what is not settled

EPA's Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, finalized in October 2024, require water systems to identify and replace lead service lines within 10 years. EPA says there is no safe level of lead exposure. A challenge to the rule, American Water Works Association v. EPA, is in court, and an advocacy group's page said argument was expected in fall 2026. We did not check the court docket. The Virginia Department of Health's drinking water office keeps a guidance page on the rule for utilities, and the page itself lists resources for utilities, not records for individual homes.

The practical result: the inventory and any replacement plan come from the company or town that sends your water bill. We found no state lookup for individual homes.

Who to ask in each place

  • Arlington. The county posts a service line inventory page. Its 2024 finding is about the county's own side. The owner's side is the open question for older houses.
  • Fairfax Water customers. That covers unincorporated Fairfax, the City of Fairfax, Falls Church, and Herndon's supply. Fairfax Water describes its ownership as running through the meter. A written reply from the utility about your address is the thing to request.
  • Alexandria. Virginia American Water. Ask for the material of the line on its side of the curb stop, and ask the City of Alexandria separately if the pipe in question is a sewer, because the sewer is a different system.
  • Vienna. The Town. Its water customers include about a third outside Town limits, so check whether your bill comes from the Town or from Fairfax Water.

If you are in a place the table says we could not confirm, that is a gap in what we could read, not a sign that the utility has no lead pipes. Treat "we found nothing" as "ask."

What the pipe could be

Lead is one of several old materials. DC Water's guide lists lead, galvanized steel, plastic, brass and copper as common service pipe materials, and notes that lead solder was used in household plumbing until 1987. Those materials are not unique to DC, so the same questions apply in Virginia. The practical steps are those on lead service lines: records first, then a licensed plumber's written finding if the records are unclear.

What you can do now

EPA's household advice applies anywhere: use a filter certified for lead, ask your utility and a licensed plumber about your service line, and know that construction near your house can release more lead. If your home was built before 1987, it may also have lead solder inside, and if it was built before Arlington's August 1, 1978 date, the county says lead may be on the owner's side. These are possibilities flagged by the sources, not findings about your house.

Replacement work in Virginia is a private-property job for a licensed contractor. Who pays depends on the utility, and we found no Virginia program comparable to the ones in DC; see DC lead programs for what exists across the river. The permit office for the work depends on your place; permits by place names it.

Renters, sellers and buyers

The DC disclosure law, which requires landlords and sellers to disclose known lead pipes, is a District law. We did not find a matching Virginia statement on the pages available, so ask the landlord or seller directly and ask for any records in writing.

Check your own address

  1. Find the name on your latest water bill and ask that utility for its service line record for your address.
  2. If you are on the Arlington system, ask the county for your address's inventory entry and, for a pre-1978 house, who confirmed the owner's side.
  3. Ask your utility when it plans to publish or update its lead inventory under the federal rule.
  4. Buy a lead-certified filter if anyone in the house is pregnant, nursing or under six, and read the certification on the label.
  5. Keep any plumber's written pipe-material finding with your house records.

More on checking an address

Survey notes: sources for this page