Richmond Mayor Danny Avila speaks to members of the press on Jan. 8, 2025. Charlotte Rene Woods / Virginia Mercury
Having not showered for days himself, Richmond mayor Danny Avula met with members of the media Wednesday morning with a blend of technical infrastructure updates and a warning that water may not be safe to consume without boiling it before Friday.
“I think it is unlikely that we will lift the water boil advisory before Friday,” he said.
Richmond residents have either had no water or low water pressure since a winter storm caused a power outage that disrupted the city’s water reservoir system. Other technical issues have delayed restoration of water levels, such as a blown fuse for water pumps and flooding where electronic equipment was sitting in water.
Richmond water crisis deepens after storm damage forces delay
There are currently two pumps at the facility that are actively working, Avula said, with five pumps “online and ready to kick in” sometime Wednesday.
Avula stressed the importance of conserving water as the reservoir continues to refill.
“Reservoir height is at seven feet,” he said Wednesday morning. “ If there’s tons of utilization, that’s going to drop down.”
Once the reservoir levels rise enough to turn on additional pumps, the Virginia Department of Health will conduct two tests, 16 hours apart, to determine the safety of the water for consumption. This is what could lift the water boil advisory.
To help ensure people have access to bottled water, Avula said that the state deployed the National Guard overnight and noted that private companies like Walmart have helped with distribution as well. The city has also opened an 11th distribution center — the Annie Marie Giles Community Resource and Training Center near Mosby Court.
Traci DeShazor, deputy chief administrative officer with human services, said that outside of people having the ability to receive three liters of water per person, per household at distribution centers, the city wants to ensure people with health, transportation or language barriers — including public housing residents, elderly people and refugee or immigrant communities or people experiencing homelessness — can be assisted as well. Residents can also call 311, she added, to request assistance obtaining water.
Avula stressed that Richmond’s water treatment facility is about 100 years old and a rehabilitation could strengthen it against future issues from storms.
When asked what kind of testing or preparedness went into the system ahead of the storm, Avula said that his administration is planning an “after action report.”
That will entail “looking at ‘when was the last time that we tested on a potential outage? What is our regular rhythm for testing battery backups?’” Avula said. “In this case, the battery backup, at least on the IT system, did kick in. It just didn’t last long, right? We had a power outage that lasted a little bit over two hours. The battery backed up, lasted about an hour, and the IT system went down. So that’s one example.”
Richmond issues boil water advisory after storm disrupts water system
With the possibility of more snow hitting Richmond later in the week, Avula said that staff will check to ensure the charge of backup batteries that should support the IT systems and water valves in the event of more power outages. He said staff will “see what we can do to diagnose” why a battery failed that had led to the flooding in the plant.
“I don’t have much more detail at this point,” he said.
In the meantime, he asked city residents to “have grace” with each other amid the water issues by conserving water use to allow the reservoir to refill faster.
“There’s probably a sense of urgency to take a shower, to wash your dishes, to do the things that we all want to do,” Avula said. “I would just ask that we continue to make wise and thoughtful decisions until our reservoir gets to where it needs to be again.”
Water woes in neighboring counties
Henrico County leaders said Wednesday morning that crews retrieved water from south of the Raceway Complex and distributed it throughout the water system, and that water service had been restored to some residents west of Mechanicsville Turnpike. The county declared a local state of emergency on Tuesday, after residents countywide reported low or no water pressure in their homes. The county has emphasized that despite the pressure problems, Henrico’s water is safe to drink without boiling.
Henrico’s water pressure problems started after the Department of Public Utilities disconnected from Richmond’s water supply Monday afternoon. Residents in the Sandston and White Oak areas have been most impacted, county leaders said in a press release.
The county is distributing free cases of water to residents, which are available for pick up at the Eastern Government Center at 3820 Nine Mile Road. Cases of bottled water are also available at the Varina Area Library and the Sandston Branch Library until 9 p.m. There is a limit of one case per family at all locations. Residents can bring their own containers to fill with water from a tanker truck at the Eastern Henrico Recreation Center. To report water issues, residents should call (804) 501-4275 and select option 2.
Hanover County issued a boil water advisory until further notice for residents east of Interstate 95 on Tuesday. By Wednesday morning, water pressure was gradually returning for some residents and the county said in a release that restoration could be complete by the end of the day.
“While areas west of I-95 are not under a boil water advisory, we continue to ask them to conserve water until further notice,” County Administrator John A. Budesky said. “If you live east of I-95, you’ll begin seeing water returning to the system as levels stabilize.”
The water is not contaminated, officials said Tuesday, but water pressure dropped for a swath of the county after it stopped its intake from Richmond’s water supply on Monday. Private well users are not impacted by the advisory. Once Richmond’s water service is fully restored, the boil advisory will remain in effect for at least 48 hours. Hanover pulls its water from the Byrd Park Reservoir, where water levels are slowly rising and improving water pressure in some parts of the county.
Hanover residents may pick up free bottles of water (one case per car) at Atlee High School’s football field parking lot, 9414 Atlee Station Road and Cold Harbor Elementary School, 6740 Cold Harbor Road. Residents can fill their own containers with free water at the Hanover County Government Complex, 7516 County Complex Road, and at Bass Pro Shops, 11550 Lakeridge Parkway. For further information and assistance, county residents may call 804-365-6024.
Chesterfield County appears to have fared the best of Richmond’s neighboring localities concerning the regional water issues, with county leaders reporting no impact to water services and normal water supply levels.
“Our water system is performing how it should, there are no impacts in Chesterfield,” said Assistant Director of Constituent and Media Services Teresa Bonifas. “We’re doing our best to help our regional partner as best we can.”
Richmond’s plant is one of three sources of water for the county, and supplies about 20% of the county’s water use, according to a post on the locality’s blog. Chesterfield officials began limiting the city’s supply Monday morning and shut off its connections to the city’s water completely on that afternoon. The locality’s water supply serves about 360,000 people.
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