H. Out of this appropriation, $1,803,598 the second year from the general fund shall be provided to ensure compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act, National Primary Drinking Water Regulations, Virginia Public Water Supplies Law, Virginia Waterworks Regulations, and to support Office of Drinking Water programs. The Office of Drinking Water shall provide a report to the Chairs of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees by October 1, 2025, describing actions taken to maintain compliance with federal and state regulations.
Virginia Legislative Tracking Summary
With the 2025 Legislative year beginning, the Water Utility Committee will post bills below for your information and review.
The bills listed below are specific to Drinking Water and Water Utilities. Download the weekly report for a complete list of bills involving groundwater, wastewater, stormwater, etc., along with the Budget Supplements.
Note: Descriptions summarize bills as introduced. Due to amendments throughout the legislative session, the substance of the bill following the introduction may differ from the summary description. Please refer to the bill text for current provisions. Links are provided for your convenience.
Key Dates
Jan. 8 – Session convenes; pre-filed bill introduction deadline
Jan. 10 – Budget amendment and bill drafting request deadline (5pm)
Jan. 17 – Last day to introduce legislation (3pm)
Feb. 5 – Crossover deadline; beginning Feb. 15 each house may only consider the other’s bills
Feb. 12 – Each house to complete work on other house’s Budget Bill and appoint conferees
Feb. 22 – Adjournment Sine Die
April 22 – Reconvened Session (“Veto Session”)
Jan. 10 – Budget amendment and bill drafting request deadline (5pm)
Jan. 17 – Last day to introduce legislation (3pm)
Feb. 5 – Crossover deadline; beginning Feb. 15 each house may only consider the other’s bills
Feb. 12 – Each house to complete work on other house’s Budget Bill and appoint conferees
Feb. 22 – Adjournment Sine Die
April 22 – Reconvened Session (“Veto Session”)
Virginia Legislative Kick-Off Session
VA AWWA Members are invited to join a General Assembly Kick-off Virtual Meeting hosted by the Water Utility Committee on Thursday, January 23rd, at 2:00 pm. During this call, Chris Pomeroy with AquaLaw will provide an overview of what to expect from the 2025 General Assembly Session. Please sign up below to receive the virtual meeting connection information.
Directs Commissioner of Health to convene a work group to study the occurrence of microplastics in the Commonwealth's public drinking water and develop recommendations for the reduction of microplastics in the Commonwealth's public drinking water. Requires the work group to report its findings and recommendations by Dec. 1, 2025.
Directs the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) to study the cumulative impacts of surface water intakes on aquatic fauna and water quality in the Chesapeake Bay and its major Virginia tributaries. The bill requires VIMS to submit a report of its findings and any recommendations no later than October 1, 2028. Same as SB 930.
Requires any owner or operator of a high-energy facility, as defined in the bill, to submit to DEQ no later than May 2026, and on a quarterly basis thereafter, a report that contains certain information relating to water and energy usage for each such facility. The bill requires DEQ, no later than July 1, 2026, to design, implement, and maintain a publicly accessible website to serve as a statewide clearinghouse for information relating to water and energy usage of all high-energy facilities operating in the Commonwealth. The bill provides that, in order to fully cover the costs of designing, implementing, and maintaining the statewide clearinghouse, DEQ shall assess an initial fee to each owner or operator of a high-energy facility and may assess an annual fee thereafter for each year that such high-energy facility is in active use. The bill requires any owner or operator of a high-energy facility to notify DEQ of any substantial change in operations or technologies that would require an update to the information required by the bill at least 60 days prior to making such change. Also requires DEQ to convene a work group of stakeholders for the purpose of identifying additional information required to be published to the statewide clearinghouse. Such work group is required to convene at least three times by July 1, 2026.
Creates the Occoquan Reservoir PFAS Reduction Program to reduce excessive levels of PFAS substances in public drinking water derived from the Occoquan Reservoir. The bill requires certain facilities to monitor for PFAS on or before October 1, 2025, using the U.S. EPA's Method 1633 or an alternative method approved by the EPA and DEQ. The bill requires any such facility to report all results to the Department no later than the tenth day of the next month after the month in which the result is reported by the laboratory and to include in such report all PFAS analytes measured by the test method. Beginning July 1, 2028, the bill requires PFAS discharged by such facilities that have PFAS in excess of the method detection level to not exceed the level of any MCLs for PFAS in drinking water promulgated on or before January 1, 2025. The bill exempts any industrial discharger not listed in the bill or any publicly owned treatment works or drinking water treatment plant but allows any public water system to follow the requirements of the bill for the purpose of planning for compliance with PFAS MCL in finished water.
Directs the State Board of Health to adopt regulations to utilize point-of-use or point-of-entry drinking water treatment or filtration systems to remove or significantly reduce concentrations of contaminants of concern that meet or exceed any maximum contaminant level or health advisory for the same contaminant adopted by US EPA. The bill also establishes the Residential Well Water Testing and Treatment Program and Program Fund to allow the Department of Health's Office of Drinking Water to test and treat contaminated drinking water through grants for the use of eligible treatment or filtration systems in private residential wells.
Extends from July 1, 2025, to July 1, 2029, the sunset date of the Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Advisory Committee to assist the State Water Commission and DEQ in the management of groundwater in the Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area.
Requires every locality to incorporate into its comprehensive plan provisions that prioritize and evaluate alternative methods of cooling, such as air cooling, geothermal cooling, or other innovative technologies that minimize water usage, particularly in the context of approving or siting data centers or similar land uses. The bill provides that the comprehensive plan shall include methods of assessing the environmental impact of water-based cooling methods and requires that alternative methods to minimize water usage are thoroughly considered before local approval of data centers or similar land uses that are reliant on significant water resources for cooling purposes.
Requires owners of waterworks to report any operational anomaly that could affect water quality, public health, or service continuity to VDH's Office of Drinking Water (the Office) within 24 hours of discovery. The bill requires any critical equipment failure, including a pump failure or any other malfunction that poses an immediate risk to public health or disrupts water service to be reported to the Office within six hours of discovery. Under the bill, failure to comply with the reporting requirements constitutes negligence and failure to comply with the critical equipment failure reporting requirements constitutes gross negligence. https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20251/HB2407
Provides that a locality, in considering any land use application required for the siting of a data center, may (i) require and consider water use estimates for proposed data center developments; (ii) require sound modeling studies for proposed data center developments; (iii) establish and enforce maximum allowable sound levels for operational data center facilities, including the use of alternative low-frequency metrics, and include such requirements in zoning ordinances; and (iv) require and consider power load demand estimates for a proposed data center development.
Provides that existing local ordinances adopted prior to July 1, 2025, governing rainwater harvesting systems, shall continue in force; however, in the event of a conflict between a Board of Health regulation and a local ordinance adopted prior to July 1, 2025, the Board regulation shall govern, except when the conflicting local ordinance is more stringent. The bill prohibits a locality from adopting any local ordinance requiring owners of Tier 4 rainwater harvesting systems to connect to any municipal water supply or impose any penalty, including condemnation proceedings, on such owner for failing to connect to a municipal water supply.
Authorizes a locality to include in its zoning ordinance provisions for (i) requiring proposed data center developments to submit water use estimates and (ii) considering water use when making rezoning and special use permit decisions related to data center development.
Prohibits DEQ from issuing a Virginia Water Protection Permit for a surface water withdrawal if more than five percent of the non-consumptive volume of such withdrawal will be returned to a different major river basin, as defined in the bill. The bill clarifies that such prohibition does not apply to any lawful withdrawal in existence on July 1, 2025.
Directs VIMS to study the cumulative impacts of surface water intakes on aquatic fauna and water quality in the Chesapeake Bay and its major Virginia tributaries. Requires VIMS to submit a report of its findings and any recommendations by than Oct. 1, 2028.
Directs the State Board of Health to adopt regulations to utilize point-of-use or point-of-entry drinking water treatment or filtration systems to remove or significantly reduce concentrations of contaminants of concern that meet or exceed any maximum contaminant level or health advisory for the same contaminant adopted by EPA. The bill also establishes the Residential Well Water Testing and Treatment Program and Program Fund to allow VDH's Office of Drinking Water to test and treat contaminated drinking water through grants for the use of eligible treatment or filtration systems in private residential wells. Same as HB 2300. https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20251/SB1090
Requires the Board of Health to promulgate regulations for use of drinking water treatment or filtration systems certified as compliant with National Sanitation Foundation and American National Standards Institute standards to remove or significantly reduce concentrations of perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorooctane sulfonate, and other contaminants of concern. The bill requires any permit application for private well construction to include (i) an indication as to whether such permit is for new construction of a well, repair of an existing well, or modification of an existing well and (ii) if such permit is for new construction of a well that is intended to replace an existing well, an indication as to the reason such existing well will no longer be used. The bill establishes the Water Testing and Treatment Program and the Residential Well Water Testing and Treatment Program Fund to assist with the testing and treating of contaminated drinking water through grants for the use of eligible treatment and filtration systems in private residential wells. Such grants are contingent on applicants demonstrating (a) the severity of the drinking water contamination, (b) the lack of available public water alternatives, and (c) the economic need of the private residential well owner. https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20251/SB1234
Requires any owner or operator of a high-energy facility, as defined in the bill, to submit to DEQ no later than May 1, 2026, and on a quarterly basis thereafter, a report that contains certain information relating to water and energy usage for each such facility. The bill requires DEQ, no later than July 1, 2026, to design, implement, and maintain a publicly accessible website to serve as a statewide clearinghouse for information relating to water and energy usage of all high-energy facilities operating in the Commonwealth. The bill provides that, in order to fully cover the costs of designing, implementing, and maintaining the statewide clearinghouse, the Department shall assess an initial fee to each owner or operator of a high-energy facility and may assess an annual fee thereafter for each year that such high-energy facility is in active use. Requires any owner or operator of a high-energy facility to notify the Department of any substantial change in operations or technologies that would require an update to the information required by the bill at least 60 days prior to making such change. Requires DEQ to convene a work group of stakeholders for the purpose of identifying additional information required to be published to the statewide clearinghouse. Such work group is required to convene at least three times by July 1, 2026, in a manner that is open to the public. Same as HB 2035
Requires owners of waterworks to report any operational anomaly that could affect water quality, public health, or service continuity to VDH's Office of Drinking Water within 24 hours of discovery. The bill requires any critical equipment failure, including a pump failure or any other malfunction that poses an immediate risk to public health or disrupts water service to be reported to the Office within six hours of discovery. Under the bill, failure to comply with the reporting requirements constitutes negligence and failure to comply with the critical equipment failure reporting requirements constitutes gross negligence. Same as HB 2407. https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20251/SB1408
