Now serving Richmond, Henrico & Chesterfield
One package. One install day. Better water at every tap. Whole-home filtration, professionally installed by Virginia-licensed plumbers — with the price on the page.
Two filtration points. Every tap in the house covered.
Richmond water
We looked at the city's own reports, the state's investigation and the EPA's newest rules. Here is what a Richmond family should actually know — with sources.
5 days
Jan. 2025 boil-water advisory across Richmond, Henrico & parts of Hanover
100%
of federal & state contaminant limits met by Richmond's water in 2025
4 ppt
EPA's new legal limit for PFOA and PFOS — about one drop in 20 Olympic pools
81 ppm
Richmond's hardness — about 4.7 grains per gallon. Moderately hard, and below the 7 gpg threshold where treatment starts to pay for itself. Most homes here don't need a softener.
January 2025
A winter-storm power failure flooded the city's treatment plant on Jan. 6, 2025. A boil-water advisory covered Richmond, Henrico, Goochland and parts of Hanover until Jan. 11. The state health department later called the outage "completely avoidable," citing a single power feed, dead backup batteries and deferred maintenance.
Source: Virginia Department of Health — Richmond Water Plant Response · 2025-04May 2025
Clogged filters at the plant dropped pressure and put parts of Richmond under a second boil-water advisory from May 27 to 29, 2025. Henrico disconnected from city water as a precaution.
Source: City of Richmond — Water in Richmond: From Response to Resilience · 2025-06The good news
The city's 2025 water-quality report shows 100% compliance with federal and state contaminant limits across more than 55,000 tests. Disinfection byproducts and lead at the tap were all under their limits. The water itself, drawn from the James River, is well treated — the question is what happens between the plant and your faucet.
Source: Richmond DPU — 2025 Consumer Confidence Report (PDF) · 2026-05That taste and smell
Chloramine keeps water safe as it travels through miles of mains. In 2025 Richmond's levels averaged 3.8 parts per million against a 4.0 ppm regulatory maximum. It does its job in the pipes; standard carbon barely touches it, which is why every package uses catalytic carbon — the media engineered for chloramine — at your main line.
Source: Richmond DPU — 2025 Consumer Confidence Report, disinfectant table (PDF) · 2026-05Lead
Richmond's 2025 lead results were low (a 90th-percentile of 4 parts per billion, under the 15 ppb action level). But lead enters water from old service lines and home plumbing after treatment. The city has replaced nearly 600 lead lines so far and mailed notices to homes with lead, galvanized or unknown lines. If your home was built before 1990, it's worth checking the city's map.
Source: Richmond DPU — LeadFreeWater program and service-line map · 2025PFAS
In 2024 the EPA set enforceable limits of 4.0 ppt for PFOA and PFOS, and in 2025 confirmed it would keep them. Richmond's 2023–2024 tests for 29 PFAS compounds came back non-detect — though the test's detection limit sits right at that new 4 ppt line. Utilities may get until 2031 to comply. The EPA identifies activated carbon and reverse osmosis as effective technologies for reducing PFAS at home — the two our packages are built on, with Complete adding a dedicated PFAS stage.
Source: U.S. EPA — PFOA and PFOS maximum contaminant levels · 2026-05Where your water comes from
City of Richmond
James River, treated at the city plant built on the river in 1924 and serving about 75,000 customer accounts.
Henrico County
Its own James River plant (opened 2004) plus roughly 11 million gallons a day purchased from Richmond.
Chesterfield County
Swift Creek Reservoir, Lake Chesdin via the Appomattox River, and up to 32 million gallons a day purchased from Richmond.
The takeaway
Treated water travels through century-old mains, service lines of unknown material and your home's own plumbing before it reaches a glass. A whole-home system filters at your door; reverse osmosis finishes the job at the kitchen sink. When the next advisory comes, you'll still need to boil — but every other day, your family drinks water you've taken charge of.
Every tap, every day
Whole-home filtration works at your main line for every shower, sink and load of laundry. Shield + Pure and Complete add pure drinking water at the kitchen tap.
Whole home · every package
A sediment pre-filter, KDF/GAC for heavy metals and catalytic carbon rated to reduce up to 94.4% of chloramine, right at your main line.
Kitchen sink · Shield + Pure and Complete
Reverse osmosis certified to NSF/ANSI 58, with alkaline remineralization so it tastes crisp rather than flat.
Packages
Three packages. One clear price each. Installations are performed by independent Virginia-licensed plumbers who carry their own license and insurance.
Clean at every faucet.
Equipment, delivery and professional installation.
Filter care from $59/mo, required for the first 12 months
Best for: Richmond, Henrico and Chesterfield homes on city or county water.
Clean water everywhere — and pure drinking water where it matters most.
Equipment, delivery and professional installation.
Filter care from $79/mo, required for the first 12 months
Best for: Families who want whole-home protection plus the purest water for drinking, cooking and bottles.
Everything Richmond's water can throw at you.
Equipment, delivery and professional installation.
Filter care from $89/mo, required for the first 12 months
Best for: Older homes, pre-1986 service lines, and anyone who wants the deepest reduction available on city water.
Not sure which one fits your home?
How it filters
Whole-home stages sit at the main line and protect every fixture. Drinking-water stages live under the kitchen sink, where purity matters most.
Rinse it yourself — no cartridge to buy.
A jumbo spin-down screen in a clear housing catches sand and grit ahead of every other stage. You can see when it needs a rinse, and there's never a cartridge to replace.
Catches grit before it reaches your pipes.
A 5-micron pre-filter at the main line captures rust, sand and silt so every fixture and appliance downstream stays cleaner.
The stage that actually deals with chloramine.
Richmond disinfects with chloramine, and standard carbon barely touches it. Catalytic carbon is a different media, engineered specifically for chloramine — SGS-tested to reduce up to 94.4% of it — along with chlorine, VOCs and odors. Every shower, every tap, not just the kitchen.
For the metals that enter after the treatment plant.
Copper-zinc KDF media paired with granular activated carbon, designed to reduce lead, mercury and hydrogen sulfide across the whole house. It matters most in homes with older service lines, where metals enter the water after it leaves the treatment plant.
A dedicated stage for the compounds that don't break down.
A dedicated stage built for the contaminants nobody was testing for ten years ago. SGS-tested media rated to reduce up to 99% of PFOA and PFOS — the two compounds the EPA's new 4 parts-per-trillion limit targets.
Pure drinking and cooking water at the tap you use most.
Multiple pre-filters and a 1/10,000-micron membrane, designed to reduce dissolved contaminants such as lead, fluoride, nitrates and arsenic. Certified to NSF/ANSI 58 and rated to make up to 75 gallons a day into a 3.2-gallon tank with its own faucet.
Puts healthy minerals back for a clean, balanced taste.
A final stage adds calcium and magnesium back into RO water and a polishing carbon filter finishes it, so it tastes crisp rather than flat.
| Stage | Shield | Shield + Pure | Complete |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spin-down pre-filterWhole home | — | — | |
| Sediment pre-filterWhole home | |||
| Catalytic carbonWhole home | |||
| Heavy-metal reductionWhole home | |||
| PFAS reductionWhole home | — | — | |
| Reverse osmosisKitchen sink | — | ||
| Alkaline remineralizationKitchen sink | — |
How it works
No DIY. No hunting for parts. Just one visit from a Virginia-licensed plumber.
Enter your zip and answer five quick questions — or skip straight to a free water check.
We match you to Shield, Shield + Pure, or Complete based on your water, your household and your goals.
Choose a day that works. Your plumber arrives with the whole system in the van — nothing for you to wait in for.
A Virginia-licensed plumber installs everything in one visit. Better water at every tap that same evening.
Why BlueTap
Professional-grade filtration, installed the right way, backed by people you can reach afterward.
Every installation is performed by an independent Virginia-licensed plumber who carries their own license and insurance and warrants their own work.
BlueTap warrants the equipment we supply and handles any hardware issue with the manufacturer for you. Your plumber warrants their installation work.
One professional-grade filtration platform across all three packages, built from food-grade materials. You get the manufacturer's spec sheets, lab test data and warranty at your water check — not a brochure.
We live here too. When you have a question before or after the job, you're talking to someone local who drinks the same water.
Filter care
Filter care comes with every system and is required for the first 12 months. Replacement cartridges are what keep the system doing its job and what keeps the manufacturer warranty valid, so it isn't optional at purchase. After the first year it continues month to month and you can cancel any time.
Whole-home filter pack on schedule
$59/mo
Whole-home cartridge set on schedule — sediment, heavy-metal and catalytic carbon stages, timed to your system's capacity.
Required for 12 months, then month to month.
Whole-home + RO filter pack
$79/mo
Whole-home set plus RO pre-filters, the remineralization stage, and the membrane on its own longer cycle.
Required for 12 months, then month to month.
Full-stack filter care
$89/mo
The full stack — PFAS, heavy-metal and catalytic carbon media plus every RO replacement, all on one schedule.
Required for 12 months, then month to month.
Cartridges arrive before you need them. Nothing to track, nothing to reorder.
Where we work
From Short Pump and Glen Allen to Midlothian, Bon Air and Chester — if your home is on city or county water in Richmond, Henrico or Chesterfield, BlueTap can help.
We serve city and county water customers. We don't currently service private wells. Don't see your neighborhood? Enter your zip in the water-check form and we'll confirm coverage.
FAQ
The price covers the filtration equipment, delivery to your home, and professional installation by a Virginia-licensed plumber. Filter care is billed monthly and keeps replacement cartridges arriving on schedule. No add-ons at the truck, no surprises.
An independent Virginia-licensed plumber. They hold their own license and insurance and warrant their installation work. BlueTap specifies and supplies the equipment and warrants the hardware.
Shield is whole-home filtration — better water at every tap in the house. Shield + Pure adds an under-sink reverse osmosis system for drinking and cooking water. Complete adds dedicated PFAS reduction and a rinseable spin-down pre-filter, and is built for older homes and pre-1986 service lines.
We standardize on one professional-grade filtration platform across all three packages, so every plumber in our network knows the system, replacement filters are always available, and filter care stays simple. Whole-home units are full-flow 1-inch systems rated to 15 gallons per minute with a pressure gauge on every stage. We'll share the complete spec sheets and warranty during your free water check.
Lead: our heavy-metal stages use KDF media designed to reduce lead house-wide, and the reverse osmosis system is certified to NSF/ANSI 58 for lead reduction at the kitchen tap. PFAS: the EPA identifies activated carbon and reverse osmosis as effective technologies for reducing PFAS, and Complete adds a dedicated stage with SGS-tested media rated to reduce up to 99% of PFOA and PFOS. Our whole-home systems are not PFAS-certified, and we'd rather tell you that than imply otherwise.
Whole-home filters are rated for up to 100,000 gallons — typically 6 to 12 months depending on your water. Under-sink RO pre-filters change every 6 months; the remineralization stage about once a year; the membrane every two to three years. Your care plan covers all of it on schedule.
Equipment carries a one-year manufacturer limited warranty on parts, and BlueTap handles any hardware claim with the manufacturer on your behalf. Your installing plumber provides workmanship terms in writing before the job.
RO water is widely used for drinking and for mixing formula, and our systems add calcium and magnesium back so it isn't flat. For infant-specific questions, your pediatrician is the right call — we're happy to share the system's specifications with them.
Whole-home systems are full-flow 1-inch units rated to 15 gallons per minute — more than a typical house draws — and a bypass valve is included so your plumber can service filters without shutting the house down. Pressure gauges on each stage show when a filter is due. If your home has unusually low pressure, we'll flag it during the water check.
Filter care comes with every system and is required for the first 12 months. Unreplaced cartridges stop the system working and void the manufacturer's warranty, so it's part of the purchase rather than an add-on. After year one it's month to month and cancellable any time.
Most jobs are finished in a single day. Combo installs — whole-home plus under-sink RO — are commonly done the same day when the home allows.
We currently serve the City of Richmond, Henrico County and Chesterfield County. We serve city and county water customers; we don't currently service private wells. Enter your zip in the water-check form and we'll confirm coverage right away.
Catalytic carbon is the media that actually removes chloramine, and it costs meaningfully more than the generic carbon in a big-box filter. You're paying for the part that works. Every plan covers all cartridges, shipped to your door on schedule, with nothing for you to track or reorder.
The system keeps passing water but stops treating it, and the manufacturer warranty is void. That's why care is part of the package rather than something to remember — the cartridges arrive before you need them.
Probably not. Richmond city water measures about 4.7 grains per gallon and Chesterfield runs 2 to 4 — both below the 7 gpg threshold Virginia Cooperative Extension identifies as the point where softening becomes worthwhile. That's why a softener isn't part of any of our packages: most homes here don't need one, and we're not going to sell you equipment your water doesn't call for. If your water test comes back high, we'll tell you, and we can add a softener as a separate quote. It's a conversation we have with the test results in hand, not something we bundle in ahead of time.
No. BlueTap is built around professional installation. You get a free water check, a clear package recommendation and a licensed plumber — not a box of parts.
Free water check
No pressure, no site visit until you want one. Tell us where you live and we'll come back with coverage and a recommendation for your home.