Fredericksburg Water Hardness & Quality Report (2026)

Fredericksburg, Virginia, an independent city — a major north Virginia historic Civil War corridor city (Fredericksburg is one of the most historically significant cities in the eastern United States — it sits at the geographic heart of the 'most fought-over ground in North America'; the Fredericksburg–Spotsylvania National Military Park preserves the sites of four of the largest Civil War battles: the Battle of Fredericksburg (1862 — one of the worst Union defeats of the war; Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee repulsed repeated Union frontal assaults across the Rappahannock River plain with devastating casualties), Chancellorsville (1863 — Lee's 'perfect battle,' but also the battle where Stonewall Jackson was accidentally shot by his own troops), the Wilderness (1864), and Spotsylvania Court House (1864)); Fredericksburg's historic downtown is one of the most intact 18th and 19th century commercial districts in Virginia), home of the University of Mary Washington, a diverse independent city with a significant military (Quantico adjacent), federal government, and diverse suburban population — draws its municipal water supply from the Rappahannock River via the Fredericksburg DPU. Water hardness in Fredericksburg measures 79 mg/L — classified as moderately soft.

Fredericksburg's moderate softness reflects the north Virginia Rappahannock Piedmont watershed's calcareous-poor geology. The Rappahannock River at Fredericksburg drains the Precambrian Piedmont gneiss (calcareous-poor). Fredericksburg DPU treatment produces the moderately soft 79 mg/L.

With hardness at 79 mg/L, Fredericksburg residents enjoy moderately soft water. Fredericksburg DPU consistently delivers water meeting all Virginia DEQ and EPA Safe Drinking Water Act requirements.