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
hardness of Richmond's water — moderately hard
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; an activated-carbon stage at your home is what reduces it in your shower, laundry and drinking water.
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 technologies behind every BlueTap package.
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.
Packages
Every package includes the hardware and a one-day install by a Virginia-licensed plumber, who arrives with everything.
Clean at every faucet.
Optional filter care $19/mo
Best for: Homes on city water that want better showers, laundry and taps everywhere.
Clean water everywhere — and pure drinking water where it matters most.
Optional filter care $29/mo
Best for: Families who want whole-home protection plus the purest water for drinking, cooking and bottles.
The full stack for tougher water.
Optional filter care $39/mo
Best for: Well water, iron or scale problems, older plumbing — or anyone who wants maximum protection at every tap.
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.
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. Its clear housing lets your plumber see when it's working hard.
Takes the chlorine taste and smell out of every tap.
Coconut-shell carbon — granular and solid block — reduces chlorine, chloramine, volatile organic compounds and odors for showers, laundry and every faucet, not just the kitchen. Rated for up to 100,000 gallons or 6 to 12 months before a change.
A tougher stage for iron, lead and hard-water scale.
Copper-zinc KDF media is designed to reduce iron, lead, mercury and other heavy metals plus hydrogen sulfide, while a food-grade polyphosphate stage conditions the water to help prevent scale and corrosion in pipes and appliances.
Pure drinking and cooking water at the tap you use most.
Three pre-filters and a 1/10,000-micron membrane, designed to reduce dissolved contaminants such as lead, fluoride, nitrates and arsenic. Makes up to 50 gallons a day into a 4-gallon tank with its own faucet.
Puts healthy minerals back for a clean, balanced taste.
A final stage adds calcium, magnesium and potassium back into RO water and a polishing carbon filter finishes it, so it tastes crisp rather than flat.
| Stage | Shield | Shield + Pure | Complete |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sediment pre-filterWhole home | — | ||
| Activated carbonWhole home | |||
| Heavy-metal & scale protectionWhole home | — | — | |
| Reverse osmosisKitchen sink | — | ||
| Alkaline remineralizationKitchen sink | — |
How it works
No DIY. No hunting for parts. No deliveries to wait in for. One coordinated job, done in a day.
Enter your zip and answer four 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 install is done by an independent, Virginia-licensed plumber. BlueTap coordinates the job start to finish; a pro does the work in your home.
Hardware and workmanship are covered under clear terms. If anything needs attention, you call BlueTap — not a parts counter.
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. Scheduling, questions and follow-up are handled locally by people who drink the same water.
Filter care
Optional subscription filter care ships replacements on your system's schedule. Cancel anytime.
Whole-home filter pack on schedule
$19/mo
Sediment and carbon replacements shipped every 6 to 12 months, timed to your system's capacity.
Whole-home + RO filter pack
$29/mo
Whole-home set plus RO pre-filters every 6 months and the membrane and mineral stage yearly.
Full-stack filter care
$39/mo
Heavy-metal, anti-scale and carbon media plus every RO replacement, all on one schedule.
Where we work
If you're on city or county water anywhere in these three localities, we can schedule you. Well homes too.
Don't see your neighborhood? Enter your zip in the water-check form and we'll confirm coverage.
FAQ
The package price covers the filtration hardware and professional installation by a Virginia-licensed plumber. Your plumber brings the equipment with them — there's nothing for you to order, pick up, assemble or return.
BlueTap partners with independent, Virginia-licensed plumbers. We coordinate the schedule and get the equipment to your plumber, so they turn up with everything and complete the install in one visit whenever your home's setup allows.
Shield is whole-home sediment and carbon filtration for cleaner water at every faucet. Shield + Pure adds an under-sink reverse-osmosis system with remineralization for drinking and cooking water. Complete swaps in a tougher whole-home stack — heavy-metal and anti-scale stages plus carbon — and includes the RO system, built for well water, iron, scale or older plumbing.
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: the reverse-osmosis stage in Shield + Pure and Complete is designed to reduce lead, along with fluoride, nitrates and arsenic, at the tap you drink from; Complete's whole-home heavy-metal stage is designed to reduce lead and iron home-wide as well. PFAS: the EPA identifies activated carbon and reverse osmosis as effective technologies for reducing PFAS, and our packages use both — but these systems aren't certified to a PFAS standard, so we won't publish a removal number we can't stand behind. During your water check we'll talk through your plumbing and water source so the recommendation fits.
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 membrane and remineralization stage about once a year. That schedule is exactly what filter care covers, so nothing sneaks up on you.
Hardware carries a one-year manufacturer limited warranty on parts, and BlueTap's install workmanship terms are put in writing before the job. If anything needs attention, you call BlueTap — we coordinate the fix with your plumber.
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.
No. Filter care is optional and can be cancelled any time. Most families choose it so replacement filters arrive on schedule and nobody has to remember dates.
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. Enter your zip in the water-check form and we'll confirm coverage right away.
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.