Mission Statement...
The City of Salem Water and Sewer Department's mission is to provide a high level of customer satisfaction by providing reliable, high quality water and sewer service in an efficient, cost effective and environmentally sensitive manner.
Water Quality Report...
The City of Salem is proud to report that drinking water treated by the City of Salem Water Department met all federal and state standards for drinking water. To learn more about your water download a copy of the Water Analysis Report from this site or contact the City of Salem Water Department at (540) 375-3029.
PFAs AND What You Need to Know
As you may have heard in recent local and national news reports, there is growing concern about a group of man-made compounds known as Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS). One of these compounds, known by its trade name GenX, has been found upstream of Salem’s water intake in the Roanoke River. The City of Salem Water Department was voluntarily sampled, in a partnership with the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), for these compounds on May 25, 2021, and July 13, 2022, from our river water intake. The laboratory results showed that these compounds were not detected. Salem will continue to monitor its river water intake for any of these substances.
We will also continue to work with our neighbors at the Western Virginia Water Authority who are providing an excellent learning resource on PFAs. Learn About PFAS | Western Virginia Water Authority
About Us. . . .
The City of Salem Water Department opened a new state-of-the-art water treatment facility, capable of producing 10 million gallons of drinking water a day, on Feb. 22, 2005.
The plant can draw water from the Roanoke River and three on-site ground water wells which can produce two million gallons per day contributing to the water drawn from the Roanoke River as the sources of water for treatment. The plant has a state-of-the-art SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) System which gives the water treatment operators the ability to monitor the status of every part of the water treatment process and monitor 19 remote sites in the City at all times.
A state-of-the-art microbiological lab also was incorporated into the new water treatment plant as well as office space for staff. The plant was designed with the flexibility to meet future drinking water regulations and to meet Salem’s water needs well into the 21st Century.
The new plant has a few additional advantages over the old treatment plants – a generator capable of powering the plant for several days during emergency conditions, large pre-settling basins and special sludge removal units designed to help aid in the water treatment process.