Whom do I need to contact?
The NRV Regional Water Authority wholesales purified water to its members. Its members include:
- Town of Blacksburg
- Town of Christiansburg
- Montgomery County
- Virginia Tech
For water service issues or to initiate or terminate water service:
- Blacksburg, please call 540-961-1119
- Christiansburg, please call 540-382-6128
- Montgomery County, please call the Montgomery County PSA at 540-382-6930
For inquiries related to the NRV Regional Water Authority, please call 540-639-2575.
The NRV Regional Water Authority issues the following in regards to Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS):
PFAS is a hot topic across this county as well as the regulatory world where the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is actively working to establish Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for PFAS. The EPA issued a health advisory on PFAS on June 15, 2022 and an update on March 14, 2023. The link to this information as well as other information on PFOA and PFAS can be found at this link: https://www.epa.gov/sdwa/drinking-water-health-advisories-pfoa-and-pfos. Also included is a factsheet for communities: https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2022-06/drinking-water-ha-pfas-factsheet-communities.pdf.
In 2021, the Virginia Department of Health Office of Drinking Water (VDH-ODW) in response to PFAS concerns requested water source sampling for PFAS compounds. The NRV Regional Water Authority that serves the Towns of Blacksburg and Christiansburg, Montgomery County and Virginia Tech volunteered to sample for PFAS compounds as part of this initial study. The report on those initial results showed no findings for the NRV Regional Water Authority in Table 2, page 10 of the report. https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/content/uploads/sites/14/2021/09/VA-PFAS-Sample-Study-Summary.pdf
In 2022, VDH-ODW issued a second phase of sampling that was more comprehensive than the first study was conducted. The NRV Regional Water Authority also participated in that effort. The results of this second effort have not been published due to the backlog of samples and data compilation that corresponds to an effort like this. The link to VDH-ODW information related to PFAS is provided at this link: https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/drinking-water/pfas/
The Authority works closely with VDH-ODW and interacts with their staff, including the principal investigator of the PFAS effort in Virginia.
The current Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule 5 (UCMR5) does require systems to sample for PFAS. This effort is a national effort as part of the regulatory process to help determine and establish MCLs for contaminants. There is not an enforceable regulation in place at this time for PFAS. The information provided in the link to EPA states that it is a proposed regulation and is going through the formal regulatory process to become enforceable.
At this time, the data that has been collected and provided by VDH-ODW for the NRV Regional Water Authority is below the practical quantification limit of the testing that was conducted or non-detect. The Authority and its members work to stay on the forefront of potential water issues and work closely with VDH-ODW to comply and address any issues before they arise.