Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach Department of Public Utilities 2026 Water Quality Report (2025 testing). Hardness 56 ppm average (range 48–74). Chloramine highest 3.03 ppm (range 0.5–3.81). No Measure S-style residential softener ban turned up.
- Hardness56 ppm (range 48–74)
- Chloramine3.03 ppm highest (range 0.5–3.81)
- TTHMs30 ppb average (range 13–51)
- HAA524 ppb average (range 13–35)
Best match for Virginia Beach
Salt-based water softener
No district prohibition on a brine drain turned up in the current file.
A salt-based softener is the thing that actually removes hardness. Size it from your grains and how much water you use, not bathroom count. It needs a drain.
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Other options that still fit
Salt-free conditioner
A salt-free conditioner changes how scale sticks. It does not soften. Soap and spots stay closer to untreated. No brine line.
Whole-house catalytic carbon for chloramine
Catalytic carbon with a chloramine claim (NSF/ANSI 42 for chloramine). Regular chlorine carbon is the wrong box.
Under-sink reverse osmosis
The under-sink RO we actually run is Cloud RO — NSF/ANSI 58, kitchen tap, not a whole-house tank. Check the exact listing if PFAS is why you are shopping. Shop Amazon first for under-sink RO, or buy Cloud direct. Waterdrop is a tankless option if you want that path. A certifier-listed pitcher is the cheap first step. Nobody is paying for a medical claim.
Shop under-sink reverse osmosisBuy Cloud RO directShop Waterdrop reverse osmosisShop PFAS-listed pitchers
Test the tap first
A homeowner kit is a start. It is not a state-certified lab. Use a certified lab when the decision is expensive.
On the report
- Water utility
- Virginia Beach Department of Public Utilities
- Hardness
- Additional Information table, January 1–December 31, 2025. Hardness range 48–74 ppm, average 56 ppm. Footnote says the water averages between soft and slightly hard. One citywide range — not a Norfolk blend we invented. — Virginia Beach 2026 Water Quality Report
- Disinfectant
- Chloramine 0.5–3.81 ppm, highest level detected 3.03 ppm, MRDL 4 / MRDLG 4. Chloramine, not free chlorine. Treated at Norfolk Moore’s Bridges. — Virginia Beach 2026 Water Quality Report
- Brine / salt to the sewer
- No district prohibition found in current research. Searched Virginia Beach Public Utilities and sewer pages for a residential self-regenerating softener or brine-drain ban like LACSD Measure S. None turned up. Ask the sewer agency on the bill before you cut a brine drain.
Also around here
Extra context besides the utility report and the chart above — geology, an unregulated table, or a published study. Not a second set of printed tap numbers.
- MicroplasticsWHO’s 2019 review examined studies that found microplastic particles in treated tap and bottled water in many places. That is a published-occurrence finding, not a number from this city’s water-quality report, and we do not invent a particles-per-liter count for the tap.Microplastics in drinking-water — World Health Organization
- SodiumSame 2025 secondary table. Sodium 16–28 ppm, average 21. Footnote suggests a 20 ppm limit for physician-prescribed no-salt diets.16–28 ppm, average 21.2026 Water Quality Report — Virginia Beach Department of Public Utilities
Virginia Beach drinking water is Department of Public Utilities. Lake Gaston water is blended with Norfolk supply and treated at Moore’s Bridges. No City of Virginia Beach residential softener ban like LACSD Measure S turned up. Ask the sewer agency on the bill before you cut a brine drain. This is not a legal opinion.
The 2026 report (2025 testing) prints hardness 56 ppm average (48–74). Chloramine highest 3.03 ppm (0.5–3.81). TTHMs 30 ppb average (13–51). HAA5 24 ppb average (13–35). Kitchen shopping stays the Cloud RO / Waterdrop path already used on other cities if a listing is why you are looking.
Sources
- 2026 Water Quality Report — Virginia Beach Department of Public Utilities. Accessed 2026-09-10.
Updated September 10, 2026. A city file is chemistry we can cite plus the sewer rule. No invented detections.