 | This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. Feel free to improve this article or discuss changes on the talk page, but please note that updates without valid and reliable references will be removed. (January 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 A store in Chesterfield County running low on water supplies due to the outage. | |
| Location | Greater Richmond Region |
|---|---|
The city of Richmond, Virginia and its surrounding localities suffered water infrastructure outages due to Winter Storm Blair, which impacted much of the United States. The localities' water systems are interconnected, meaning that problems in Richmond City led to problems across the region. Richmond was the most impacted, followed by Henrico to the immediate north. Henrico is bordered on the north by Hanover County and on the east by Goochland County, which also faced some impacts. Chesterfield County, to the south of Richmond, was impacted very little, as they were able to effectively switch water sources and have very few customers who directly receive water from the city.
Boil-water advisories were issued for all or parts of Richmond city and Henrico, Hanover, and Goochland counties, as well as for 27 people in Chesterfield County.
Communication issues between the city and Henrico County and between the city and its water customers contributed to response difficulties. Impacts have been widely felt, with hospitals, schools, and sporting events being among those facing cancellations and service interruptions. Cooperation between localities and among localities and the private sector helped mitigate some of the issues.
The event had political implications, because the Virginia General Assembly had to recess until Monday. Governor Glenn Youngkin activated the Virginia National Guard, which was made easier because of the state of emergency that had been declared earlier in the week. He called for an after-action review to more fully understand the crisis. Further, Jason Miyares, the Attorney General of Virginia, said that he would aggressively prosecute price gouging. Additionally, the outage happened roughly a week into newly-elected Mayor Danny Avula's administration.
Full water service is expected to be returned by Thursday and Friday, but the boil-water advisory will last until at least Friday in the city. In Henrico and Hanover, the boil-water advisory is expected to last until Saturday.
Background
Winter Storm Blair
The City of Richmond had declared a State of Emergency in preparation for the storm, as had the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Richmond
On a typical winter day, the water plant on Douglasdale Road produces 45 million gallons per day, and the city reservoir is typically at about 18 feet.
Surrounding counties
Chesterfield
Chesterfield sources water from the James River, Lake Chesdin, and the Swift Creek Reservoir. Normally, Chesterfiled receives about 20% of its water from the city. About 27 Chesterfield residents receive their water directly from the city. They are unable to be connected to county water due to geographic constraints and pressure concerns.
Hanover
Hanover has purchased water from the city since 1994; city water primarily serves the Hanover Air Park and Mechanicsville. City water is one of the county's Suburban Water System's 3 sources. The Doswell Water Treatment Plant serves the Doswell and Ashland areas. Hanover County's 25-year plan does include provisions to build its own reservoir and water treatment plant, although the County and the City would continue to remain partners.
Henrico
Henrico's Water Treatment Facility is located on Three Chopt and Gaskins Road. Henrico's water system is divided into multiple pressure zones that have interconnecting pipes. These include the Greater Hermitage, Laburnum/Azalea Zone, and Greater Eubank zone (which encompasses most of the Varina district). The Greater Hermitage Zone is fed directly from the water treatment facility by a 42-inch pipe. The Greater Hermitage Zone and Laburnum/Azalea Zone have multiple interconnections. The Laburnum/Azalea Zone and Greater Eubank Zone are interconnected with a single 16-inch pipe. Normally, the Greater Eubank Zone and Laburnum/Azalea Zone are fed from Richmond's water treatment plant with large pipes, and Henrico only supplements that water every three days. Typically, Henrico receives about 12 million gallons a day from the city.
The city's Church Hill water tanks serve the Elko region of Eastern Henrico. The city generally provides about 11 million gallons a day of water to the county.
Aqua Virginia
Aqua Virginia is a Virginia State Corporation Commission-regulated water utility that provides water service to residents of Hanover and Goochland counties, among others.
Timeline
Monday
At 7:30am on Monday, January 6, a power outage occurred at the city of Richmond's water treatment plant on Douglasdale Road, which was related to the larger power outages experienced across the region as a result of the January 5–6, 2025 blizzard across the United States. Backup generators turned on, but it was reported that a separate battery backup and a redundant system both failed. Due to the loss of electrical power, critical damage was caused to the IT system. Thus, filter gallery valves got stuck, allowing water to flood into the basement where the electrical and computer equipment was located.
Newly-inaugurated Mayor Danny Avula reported that workers were in the basement and trying to pump water out.
Chesterfield County reported that its Utilities Department was notified at approximately 7am of the situation and asked to limit water usage from the city. The county began the process of transitioning off of that supply to help the city maintain its water pressure, which is a standard response by the department in these types of situations. It augmented its supply by pulling more water from the Appomattox River Water Authority.
As of 9:39am on Monday, power had been restored to the plant. The surrounding counties of Hanover, Henrico, and Chesterfield chose to disconnect themselves from the city's water system in order to help preserve water for the city.
For the next several hours, crews focused on getting the plant's computer and mechanical systems back in operation. Water consumption increased and the city's reservoir dropped noticeably. Some city residents began to notice major issues with water pressure. City officials chose to not issue a boil-water advisory at this time because they hoped that it would not be necessary.
A regional telephone call occurred at around 2:45pm in which surrounding localities were made aware that the water plant remained offline and that city water tank reserves were continuing to decline. Chesterfield County isolated its water distribution system from the city of Richmond's water supply by shutting down all three interconnection points between its water supply and the city's. The process was completed by 4:00pm.
Safe water continued to flow to water customers until around 4:30. At 4:26pm on Monday, the city announced an immediate boil-water advisory, which had not happened in the city since Hurricane Isabel in 2003. City residents were also asked to try and conserve as much water as possible. April Bingham, Senior Director of the Department of Public Utilities, said in the press release that her team was "diligently working to bring the water system back online along with the support of our partners.” 230,000 people had been reported to have been experiencing very low water pressure before the city was placed on the advisory.
At 5:15pm on Monday, Mayor Avula held an emergency news conference. He announced that they had cleared out the facility's flooding and that eight filters were operational. He also announced his intention to resume producing water later that evening and restore pressure by 10:00pm.
Henrico's quick rerouting of water services from the city's water facility worked briefly until a water main break in Sandston, took pressure from the water lines in eastern Henrico, especially in the Sandston and White Oak areas. Essentially, leaks in the system were caused as water rushed the system towards open valves leading to Richmond, cutting off water service to large parts of northern and eastern Henrico.
Before midnight on Monday, the city provided an update, saying that the issues still had not been fixed and that Mayor Avula was going to spend the night at the water plant to oversee restoration efforts.
Chesterfield County minor boil-water advisory
On Monday evening, the Chesterfield Utilities Department hand-delivered notifications to 27 customers near the Chesterfield-Richmond line that received water directly from the city's water distribution system. These customers were informed to follow the boil-water and conservation advisories issued by the city. They were unable to be supplied by the county's water distribution system because of geographic constraints and pressure concerns.
Tuesday
On Tuesday, January 7, 24 hours after the failure of the city water plant, Hanover County's storage tanks, which were supplying Mechanicsville, depleted; meanwhile Ashland's demands increased and Doswell couldn't provide additional water, despite maximizing its production.
At 8:15am, the mayor reported that they had "the most positive step we've had in the last 12 hours" which was the fact that two pumps had started actively running and that one of the tanks was actively being filled; additionally, computer systems had been restored. However, water service was still not restored for much of the city.
At 12:33pm, the city announced that water production had been restored, but that it would be several hours before pressure returned to normal levels, and that the boil-water advisory would remain in effect.
Bottled water was provided by the County of Chesterfield to the 27 residents impacted by the City's water plant outage, and the county indicated that it was going to continue supporting these residents throughout the duration of the event.
Electrical panel failure
At 6:20pm, city officials reported that the plant experienced an electrical failure, which extended the timeline for the restoration of water service. The failure forced a system reset. Initially, engineers employed by the city believed that the malfunction would not cause significant delays, but upon further analysis it was revealed that a more complex issue, requiring additional time and resources to address, was present.
In a statement, Avula said that "service teams remain on duty round-the-clock to re-pressurize the water system and restore water distribution throughout the city."
Hanover boil-water advisory
Hanover County officials placed those portions of the county east of Interstate 95 under a boil water advisory. However, residents in Doswell were exempt. Residents west of the interstate are also asked to continue to conserve water; residents of the Town of Ashland were also asked to continue conserving water. Officials said that the order was a precaution due to low water pressure. According to the county, the order will remain in effect for 48 hours after Richmond's water service is fully restored.
Residents on Aqua Virginia systems were encouraged to contact them for updates.
Henrico pressure drop
Pressure was expected to be restored to easterm and northern Tuesday afternoon. However, this was not the case. On Tuesday night, Henrico crews closed two large valves to push water from Western to eastern Henrico, which did succeed in pushing more water to the eastern end of the county, but was still insufficient in providing full water service to eastern residents.
According to Vithoulkas, some of the issues could have been reduced if the city had communicated earlier.
Wednesday
At 9:30am on Wednesday, Avula reported that 3 pumps were up and running, 12 filters had become operational, and that water was beginning to fill the reservoir. He said that a return to partial pressure was possible as the day went on.
Throughout Wednesday morning, Henrico crews blocked off any remaining interconnects between the city of Richmond and Henrico. While there was no risk of contaminated water coming into the Henrico system from those valves previously, since the county was now attempting to restore pressure in its own water system, it had been losing water through those valves into the city.
In a Wednesday afternoon press conference, Mayor Avula said that the plant was producing 69 million gallons per day. He said that once water levels and the city's main reservoir were able to stay above 10 feet, testing could begin to ensure that water is safe for human consumption. Regulations require the water system to pass two rounds of testing at least 16 hours apart before the boil-water advisory can be lifted. He repeated the request to Richmonders to use their water sparingly. He said that 5 pumps and 15 filters were then operational. The city conducted its first bacteriological test of water in the water plant, which came back clean.
At 5:45pm, Hanover County reported that they were optimistic that water service would be fully restored to areas east of Interstate 95 by Thursday. According to Matt Longshore, Hanover Director of Public Utilities, water pressure began returning to affected Hanover homes on Wednesday and that progress will continue throughout the night and into Thursday as pipelines were refilled.
At 8:30pm, Hanover's water pumps were turned on.
Henrico boil-water advisory
The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) issued a boil-water advisory in Eastern Henrico as residents started getting water again after the pressure drop, which county officials extended to all of its water customers due to the interconnected nature of its systems. County manager John Vithoulkas said that the VDH did not realize that once water is in our system, there is no way to say that water is in Eastern Henrico (sic), can't end up in Western Henrico." The department expects advisories region-wide to be in effect through January 9th.
Henrico residents do not need to boil their water for cleaning or showering purposes.
Goochland and Aqua Virginia boil-water advisory
A boil-water advisory was issued for residents of Goochland County's eastern end, an area that receives its water from Henrico County. This includes residents in the James River Estates and Pagebrook subdivisions in its Eastern End, who are customers of Aqua Virginia.
Further, some customers of Aqua Virginia in Hanover County, who connect to County water, were encouraged to boil their water; this includes the Holly Ridge, Mayfield Farms, and Burnside subdivisions; it is unclear when these recommendations were made.
Henrico pressure zone maintenance
Once the Richmond-Henrico interconnect valves were closed, Henrico Public Utilities crews began working on filling up the Laburnum/Azalea pressure zone with water from the Greater Hermitage Zone. Once that is complete, water will be fed from there into the Greater Eubank Zone. However, the process may be lengthy, because there has never before been the need to send this level of water from western to eastern Henrico.
However, the process has been "tedious and water was slow to refill the affected areas." Thus, the county returned to it strategy of getting water from the city.
Simultaneously, the city's plant began filling the Church Hill water tank, which feeds the Elko region of eastern Henrico.
Thursday
At 5:45am on Thursday, January 9, the city announced that it would provide an update on water issues at 9:30am, but later rescheduled this press conference for noon.
Just before 9:00am, city officials reported that the city reservoir was almost full and that 8 out of 9 water zones were back online; 9 water zones is the target.They announced that testing will commence when the ninth zone reaches its desired threshold.
Much of Henrico's Route 5 corridor near the city line, along with Highland Springs and Sandston near Richmond International Airport remained without water. Some Highland Springs residents did report having a slow trickle of water. Customers living farther east along Route 5 near I-295, residents reported at least low water pressure. Additionally, residents in the Hechler Village community along South Laburnum Avenue near Nine Mile Road; in the Central Gardens community, which is near the Mechanicsville Turnpike and the city line; and in the Glen Lea area, which is near the Richmond International Raceway, all reported having low or full water pressure.
At 9:55am, Hanover county officials say that water is almost back to normal, but that a boil-water advisory is expected to last until early in the weekend. Water testing begins Thursday and it could take up to 48 hours for he advisory to be lifted.
On Thursday morning, Henrico's Varina District Supervisor, Tyrone Nelson, posted a video to social media announcing that the 23,000 customers in Eastern and Northern Henrico could be receiving water on this day unless "something crazy happens." He said that water had begun reaching number of affected communities in the eastern and northern portions of the county last night. Additionally many other affected county residents, who had been without water for two days, will see it return gradually on this morning. Residents may experience trickles of water flow gurgling in the pipes, or air pressure. He said that "twelve hours from now, we’ll be in a way better place than we are right now.” Henrico, as of Thursday morning, is receiving about six million gallons a day from the city, which is half the normal rate. The boil-water advisory will remain for all of Thursday.
Also on Thursday morning, VDH shortened its required waiting period between water sytem tests from 24 hours to 16 hours for the city and surrounding localities.
Before noon on Thursday, officials in Hanover reported that water services had been restored to residents east of Interstate 95. Their boil-water advisory stayed in effect for those east of I-95 and is planned to remain so for the next 48 hours. Hanover Director of Public Utilities Matt Longshore said that any water discoloration noticed by residents is normal. To solve discoloration, Longshore recommended that customers flush their service line with an outside faucet, then flushing each indoor fixture with cold water, one at a time, until it ran clear. Residents were encouraged to continue conserving water as full pressure was restored.
Between 11am and 12pm, tests of water within the city's distribution center were conducted. If those tests, along with tests conducted 16 hours later, are clean, the city plans to lift its boil-water advisory sometime Friday.
At noon, city officials said that water pressure had been fully restored. This news means Henrico residents are one step closer to a full return to normal. Henrico Public Utilities Director Bentley Chan said that the city was supplying 6 million gallons of water per day to the city, which is about half of its normal rate. While the water was lower in terms of pressure and flow, it was moving at a higher rate of speed than expected.
The Henrico boil-water advisory will likely extend to Saturday because Henrico is conducting its own tests on the water system, primarily in the areas served by the city's water supply. The second bacteriological test will be pulled tomorrow.
Water main break
At 9:27am, an article was published by NBC 12 describing how a water main break has closed part of westbound Monument Avenue at the intersection with Bremo Road. It is unclear whether this issues is related to the broader water outage. Officials were unable to provide an estimated time of repair at the time of publishing.
Traffic was closed on westbound Monument between Bremo and Devers Roads. Roughly 40 customers were impacted, but not nearby St. Mary's Hospital, which has water. The Henrico Citizen published that the break should be repaired by Thursday evening.
Impacts and response
Water distribution and showers
Richmond
As of early Tuesday, state agencies had delivered 70 pallets of bottled water to the city, with an additional 350 pallets en route. The city itself provided more than 37,000 liters of water as of Tuesday to distribution sites and "high priority areas."
On Tuesday, various city departments and humanitarian organizations, including the American Red Cross, along with the Richmond Sheriff's Office, partnered to distribute water in high-priority areas, such as homeless shelters, public housing, and elderly housing.
City water distribution sites included Broad Rock Library, Hickory Hill Community Center, Bellemeade Community Center, Midtown Green, Pine Camp Community Center, Westover Hills Community Center, and the East End District Initiative.
RVA Community Fridges shared other resources where people might obtain water, including multiple local breweries and the Wayside Spring, which is a natural spring in the city.
The city is offering calm water delivery starting at 10:30 AM via by calling 311. 311 and the Richmond Police Department will work together to deliver water to older adults and to individuals with mobility challenges; because of high demand, requests made after 2:30pm would likely be delivered the next day.
Richmond's public housing authority said that residents at its Creighton, Fairfield, Gilpin, Hillside, Mosby, and Whitcomb Court developments can pick up bottled water at their communities' respective maintenance shops.
Hanover
On Tuesday, from 3pm to 7pm, and Wednesday, from 12pm to 7pm, water was distributed at Atlee High School and Cold Harbor Elementary School. As of 4:30pm on Wednesday, the county had distributed 3200 cases of bottled water and 9000 gallons of potable water; the potable water was distributed at the Bass Pro Shop at 11550 Lakeridge Parkway and the Hanover County Government Complex. The county plans to continue distributing water Thursday.
Residents with even numbered addresses would be able to shower at Liberty Middle School while residents with odd numbered addresses would be able to shower at Patrick Henry High School. Both locations will be open on Thursday between 9:00am and 7:00pm. Showers were planned to be available in 10-minute increments and residents are expected to bring their own hygiene products and towels.
Hanover residents were asked to call a hotline if they have extreme medical needs or are shut-in to report their issues.
Henrico
The county made sites available for the distribution of bottled water, as well as water from tanker trucks. The Varina Area Library and the Sandston Branch Library had bottled water available until 9pm. Based on governments that are had bottled water around the clock. The Eastern Henrico Recreation center had bottled water and a tanker truck available around the clock.
On Wednesday evening, the county made showers available to residents. Brookland Middle School, J.R. Tucker High School, and Wilder Middle School were all open from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM. The Henrico Sports & Events Center will be open around the clock to provide showers.
Just before 11:00am on Thursday, officials wrote that they were experiencing "temporary gaps" in their supply of bottled water because of high demand. As a result, the six locations where bottled water was being delivered on Thursday, which are the Eastern Henrico Government Center, the Eastern Henrico Recreation Center, the Henrico Sports and Events Center, Brookland Middle School, Tucker High School, and Wilder Middle School may not have bottled water available on a continuous basis. Officials requested residents who need water to use the tanker trucks stationed at the Eastern Henrico Government Center and the Herico Sports and Events Center, but residents must bring their own container.
Medical facilities
The lack of potable water has severely affected operations at area health care centers.
According to Julian Walker of the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association, area hospitals are using every outside resource available, including bringing in water tanker trucks to maintain water resources. Many area hospitals are on diversion and are discharging as many patients as appropriate; this includes some that have gone on EMS diversion, a legal status created by EMTALA, where incoming patients may be rerouted to other facilities.
State agencies worked overnight on Monday to organize tanker trucks to deliver water to area hospitals.
Bon Secours
Bon Secours Richmond has implemented an incident command structure. As of January 8, all Richmond-area facilities are implementing water conservation efforts.
Bon Secours Memorial Regional Medical Center in Hanover County and Bon Secours Richmond Community Hospital are under emergency operations protocol due to water service suspension; both facilities' Medical Office Buildings are closed. The Richmond Community Hospital has sourced a temporary external water solution, is on diversion, has stopped transfers, is facilitating appropriate transfers, and giving water bottles to persons at the facility. The Memorial Regional Medical Center has postponed elected cases.
Bon Secours St. Mary's Hospital was experiencing low water pressure on Monday afternoon but normal operations have since resumed. Henrico officials provided water to the hospital.
As of 9:57am on Thursday, Memorial Regional Medical Center was off of diversion.
VCU
Several Richmond-area locations of VCU Health have been closed for water- and storm-related reasons.
Procedures at multiple VCU Health facilities, including all endoscopies, outpatient diagnostic testing, and imaging, were canceled and clinics were closed on Tuesday.
Henrico officials gave water to the emergency department at VCU Medical Center, which is one of the area’s two Level I trauma centers.
Chippenham Memorial Hospital
Chesterfield Fire and EMS sent a crew to Chippenham Hospital, the other Level I Trauma Center in the region, with a 2500 gallon water tender to help with continued operation of the hospital's boilers and other systems that were affected by low incoming water pressure.
Retreat Doctors' Hospital
Retreat Doctor's Hospital in The Fan, owned by HCA Healthcare, has been without water and on diversion status since Monday night at the latest.
Patient First
The Patient First in Carytown was closed due to the city's water crisis, as was the location in Mechanicsville.
Government
State government
The water outage forced the closure of all state office buildings in Richmond, as well as state offices in Hanover County. House of Delegates clerk Paul Nardo said that even when water service was restored, it would take 16–18 hours to restore full system stability in the Capitol, and that officials had requested the conservation of water to help with system pressure even after the return of water. Nardo encouraged lawmakers to return to their districts.
The Virginia Senate and House of Delegates announced their plans to convene at noon on Wednesday to start the session, handle a few items, then recess until Monday, January 13. The state constitution required their presence in the Capitol on Wednesday, and some infrastructure was set up to support them, including port-a-potties being placed around the State Capitol. The items to be addressed in the House included, according to Nardo, two procedural resolutions, HJ 429 and HJ 430, followed by "the traditional salaries and contingencies resolution;" the Senate also met briefly to address similar items. Then, they recessed until 9 a.m. on Monday.
Legislative aides, interns, and most support staff were instructed to not work on the week of January 6–10. House chamber staff were to be present Wednesday to manage the abbreviated session. Legislative pages had already been sent home.
Governor Youngkin's State of the Commonwealth will be postponed to Monday morning at 10am.
The Capitol and General Assembly buildings will be closed through Sunday, January 12.
Late Wednesday, the Virginia Department of Human Resource Management issued an alert that state offices in the city will plan to open at 10:00am on Thursday and that any changes would be posted to the its website by 7:30am.
Mayoral inaugauration
Although Avula became mayor on January 1, his inauguration was scheduled for January 11. However, that has been postponed due to the water outage, as Avula worked to get city services back in operation.
On Thursday, Mayor Avula announced in an Instagram post that all of Saturday's inaugural events were to be cancelled.
Henrico School Board
The school board in Henrico County canceled its meeting, scheduled to take place at the New Bridge Learning Center on Thursday, January 9th at 3pm. In its place, the board decided to hold a special meeting on January 9th at 3pm at 1910 E Parham Road. The location was moved because of the New Bridge Learning Center being impacted by the water outage. The agenda of the meeting did not change.
Richmond International Airport
Significant disruptions have been felt at Richmond International Airport. The airport's emergency operations center was also activated and tankers have had to deliver non-potable water to support essential operations, including aircraft de-icing. Portable restrooms for staff and drinking stations in both concourses have also been brought in. Passengers, however, have faced considerable inconvenience due to the closure of restrooms and restaurants in the airport. No timeline has been provided regarding the return of water service at the airport.
As of 10:30am on Thursday, the airport remained without water pressure.
Schools
Most school divisions in the region will remain closed on Thursday, although Chesterfield County will open all but one school.
Richmond Public Schools
Richmond Public Schools (RPS) will remain closed through the end of the week. According to RPS superintendent Jason Kamras, essential school infrastructure, like boilers and plumbing, all has to be tested and possibly repaired, which has to take place after the VDH-mandated city water testing period. Kamras said that at least 10 buildings were inoperable because they relied on boiler heat, which depends on water.
In an email sent to students' families, Kamras said that "Meals and resources for families are my biggest concern." He said that those in need of meal assistance should reach out to the school system.
The school system is working with FeedMore to distribute food to students via sites at Cardinal and Henry Marsh Elementary Schools, a plan which was developed earlier in the week. Renesha Parks, the district's chief wellness officer, said that roughly 65% of the district's students relied on its school breakfast and lunch programs. The organization and the district worked together from 11am to 1pm Wednesday to distribute no-prep meals, non-perishable food, and cases of water. The district provided meals that didn't require water and reached out to families with histories of food insecurity. David Waidelick, FeedMore's chief programs and collaborations officers, said that the organization would balance continuing support and maintaining inventory.
Both Kamras and city councilmember Katherine Jordan helped to distribute food and water.
Kamras announced that lunch would be provided January 9 and 10 to the families of any RPS students at 6 accessible locations throughout the city; these locations were Brown Middle School, Cardinal Elementary School, Carver Elementary School, Henderson Middle School, Martin Luther King, Jr., Middle School, and Richmond High School for the Arts.
Sporting events
VCU Men's Basketball decided to hold its Wednesday night game against Fordham University without spectators due to the water outage. Athletic director Ed McLaughlin said in a statement that "We wanted to wait as long as possible but water service has not returned to the Siegel Center, despite assurances throughout the last two days that it would." He said that "shutting our doors to fans has major financial implications for our department and major impact on the student-athlete experience."
University of Richmond Women's Basketball also announced that fans would not be permitted to attend its 6pm Wednesday match against George Mason University; tickets would be honored at any remaining Spider Women's Basketball game this season.
Community centers
YMCAs
YMCAs in the region opened their doors to provide showers and community spaces. Local residents wishing to use the spaces would have to bring a photo ID for entry and a towel and toiletries if they wished to shower. These included the Manchester Family YMCA the Tuckahoe Family YMCA, the Patrick Henry Family YMCA, the Ashland John Rolfe Family YMCA, the Shady Grove Family YMCA, and the Glen Allen Chester Family YMCA. Other locations had to be closed due to water outages, including the 10th Street YMCA, Atlee Station Family YMCA, Chickahominy Family YMCA, Downtown YMCA, Northside Family YMCA, and Thornton YMCA Aquatic Center at the Shady Grove YMCA.
Weinstein JCC
The Weinstein Jewish Community Center (JCC) on Monument Avenue also is opening its doors to Richmond residents with valid IDs; residents must bring their own toiletries.
Intergovernmental aid and emergency operations
Henrico's Emergency Operations Center became active and is actively dispatching resources. The county declared a local state of emergency after the pressure drop.
Youngkin, VDH, and the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (DEM) remained in contact with Avula's administration throughout Tuesday; both departments provided technical support and emergency supplies.
Youngkin activated the Virginia National Guard to help with the state's emergency response efforts; he was able to do this because of the State of Emergency that he had declared. He said that hospitals were among the top priorities in the state. He was able to send 29 water tankers, including 6 from the National Guard, to help with the situation. Additionally, 1300 pallets were being sent and were planned to arrive on Wednesday night.
Chesterfield County Utilities offered its staff's technical expertise to the city as well as the contact information of contractors who may have been able to help with repairs.
Henrico's Department of Public Utilities provided "every available resource to help restore normal operations in the City of Richmond."
Central Virginia Incident Management Team
On Monday evening, Richmond requested resources from the Central Virginia Incident Management Team, comprised of members from many local emergency response organizations, to help coordinate the response and restore its municipal water supply system.
Rumors
County officials told the Henrico Citizen that rumors circulating social media of a possible cutoff to western Henrico water service were false.
Price gouging
Governor Glenn Youngkin addressed price gouging in a press conference on Wednesday. Due to the state of emergency that had been declared statewide, it had been made illegal for stores to charge inflated prices for necessity items. However, a convenience store in Henrico County, Rocketts Market Cafe, was found charging up to $20 for cases of water, which normally cost between $4 and $7. Management at the store denied that they were increasing the prices of water cases.
Aftermath and investigations
According to the Director of the VDH's Office of Drinking Water Dwayne Roadcap, his office would be investigating "why the fail-safe systems and the redundant systems didn't work." He further expressed that "You shouldn't have this kind of problem." He noted that there had been noncompliance with some regulations, which was part of the reason behind the outage.
Youngkin, whose Executive Mansion relies on city water, spoke with House and Senate leadership to call for an after-action report to examine the failure; he said that lawmakers should prioritize fixing the issue.
Communication delay
Some Richmond residents reported lower or no water pressure Before the official announcement of problems at the plant. According to Mayor Avula, the communication delay came from a desire to contact regional partners to "make sure their residents weren't going to be affected by this" before city residents. He stated that he wanted to "be able to give really clear and direct information so that people who are served by the City of Richmond know that they're impacted."
Vithoulkas said in a press conference Tuesday that communication from the city could have improved.
References
- ^ Edwards, Joe (January 8, 2025). "How did Richmond's water crisis happen?". Newsweek. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
- "Schools cancel classes across the Southern US as another burst of winter storms move in". AP News. January 9, 2025. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- "Mayor Danny Avula Declares State of Emergency Due to Approaching Severe Winter Weather | Richmond". www.rva.gov. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- "Governor Glenn Youngkin Declares State of Emergency in Advance of Winter Storm". www.governor.virginia.gov. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- ^ "Status update: Greater Richmond's water outages". VPM. January 7, 2025. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- Mayor and RPS providing update on water crisis (Video). NBC 12 On Your Side. January 8, 2025.
- "Drinking Water and Water Resources | Chesterfield County, VA". www.chesterfield.gov. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- ^ "Chesterfield's Water is Safe to Drink". Chesterfield County, VA. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- ^ "Hanover County Water Issues | Hanover County, VA". www.hanovercounty.gov. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- ^ "'Today's the day' for water restoration in Henrico". Henrico Citizen. January 9, 2025. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- ^ "Water Outage - Henrico County, Virginia". henrico.gov. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- "Henrico crews complete water valve closures, begin filling Eastern, Northern Henrico water zones". Henrico Citizen. January 8, 2025. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- ^ "Henrico's Chan: County's boil water advisory could be lifted by Saturday". Henrico Citizen. January 9, 2025. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- "Aqua Virginia | Essential Utilities". www.aquawater.com. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- ^ "Richmond Water Crisis: A timeline of events since Monday's treatment plant power outage". CBS 6 News Richmond WTVR. January 7, 2025. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
- ^ Deliso, Meredith. "Water boil advisory in effect for Richmond, Virginia, after storm impacts treatment plant". ABC News. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
- ^ "City of Richmond Issues Immediate Boil Water Advisory and Strongly Encourages Residents to Limit Water Usage | Richmond". www.rva.gov. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
- ^ "Electrical failure extends timeline of water restoration in Richmond, many residents still without service". CBS 6 News Richmond WTVR. January 7, 2025. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- "Richmond and Henrico Health Districts Provide Guidance for City of Richmond Boil Water Advisory – Richmond City Health Department". January 7, 2025. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- ^ "Henrico issues county-wide boil water advisory amid water crisis". CBS 6 News Richmond WTVR. January 8, 2025. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- ^ Schmidt, Markus (January 7, 2025). "Richmond water crisis deepens after storm damage forces delay • Virginia Mercury". Virginia Mercury. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- ^ 12 On Your Side Digital Team (January 7, 2025). "Part of Hanover County under 'boil water' advisory". NBC 12. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - "Water Update for Town of Ashland". Ashland, VA. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- ^ Vithoulkas, Jason (January 7, 2025). Water boil advisory in effect for Richmond, Virginia, after storm impacts treatment plant (Video).
- Avula, Danny (January 8, 2025). Dr. Danny Avula, Richmond Mayor (Video). NBC 12 On Your Side.
- ^ 12 On Your Side Digital Team (January 9, 2025). "Water services restored to Hanover residents east of I-95". NBC 12 On Your Side. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ McGranahan, Samantha (January 8, 2025). "Goochland issues boil water advisory". NBC 12. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
- ^ 12 On Your Side Digital Team (January 9, 2025). "Richmond area's water issues enter day 4". NBC 12 On Your Side. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - 12 On Your Side Digital Team (January 9, 2025). "Water main break closes part of Monument Avenue". NBC 12 On Your Side. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - "Henrico water main break affecting traffic near St. Mary's Hospital". Henrico Citizen. January 9, 2025. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- WTVR CBS 6 (January 8, 2025). Hanover County provides water crisis update. Retrieved January 9, 2025 – via YouTube.
{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - 12 On Your Side Digital Team (January 8, 2025). "Richmond water crisis impacting area hospitals". NBC 12. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Impacts to operations in Richmond related to local water issues". www.bonsecours.com. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
- ^ "Water outages disrupt Richmond-area health care". VPM. January 7, 2025. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- "Impacts to VCU Health due to weather, boil water advisory". www.vcuhealth.org. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
- ^ Massenburg, Amir (January 8, 2025). "Water crisis in Richmond causes General Assembly to delay 2025 legislative session". WDBJ 7. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
- ^ Graff, Henry (January 8, 2025). "Virginia's Governor says anger over Richmond water issues is justified". NBC 12. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- ^ Nadeau, Ryan (January 7, 2025). "Virginia General Assembly effectively delays start of 2025 session due to Richmond's water issues". WRIC 8. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
- Hylton, David (December 27, 2024). "Avula's ceremonial Inauguration Day events postponed amid city water crisis". NBC 12. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- Avula, Danny (5:20, January 9, 2025). "Announcement 📣: All Inaugural events on Saturday have been canceled. My entire focus needs to be on our recovery from this water crisis. My team will make decisions about potentially rescheduling on the other side of this. If you have questions, please reach out to rsvp@dannyformayor.com" – via Instagram.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "School Board Public Notice – Canceled Meeting and Special Meeting". www.henricoschools.us. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- "Henrico School Board to hold special meeting at new location". Henrico Citizen. January 9, 2025. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- "Richmond airport loses water. What happens now?". CBS 6 News Richmond WTVR. January 7, 2025. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- ^ "Richmond Schools to stay closed all week due to ongoing water crisis". CBS 6 News Richmond WTVR. January 8, 2025. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- ^ "Richmond schools closed all week, distributing food to students". VPM. January 8, 2025. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- Williams, Justin. "VCU, Richmond to host basketball games without fans amid ongoing water outage in city". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- National Guard activated to help with water crisis (Video). NBC 12 On Your Side.
- "No, the water supply to Henrico's West End is not going to be cut off". Henrico Citizen. January 9, 2025. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
- Williams, Allison (January 9, 2025). "Henrico convenience store caught price gouging bottled water during state of emergency, water crisis". ABC 8 News. Retrieved January 9, 2025.