‘Completely avoidable’: Gov. Youngkin releases final VDH report on Richmond water crisis
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RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Gov. Glenn Youngkin has released the final report from the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) on the Richmond water crisis, announcing a second notice of violation against the city that requires the implementation of a "Corrective Action Plan."
On Wednesday, April 16, Youngkin released the final report from VDH on the Richmond water crisis that took place in January, which left residents across the City of Richmond and multiple surrounding counties with little to no water.
According to Youngkin's office, the investigation, conducted by VDH’s Office of Drinking Water (ODW) and engineering firm Short Elliott Hendrickson, Inc. (SEH), identified significant operational, procedural and infrastructure failures that contributed to several days without reliable water service.
According to Youngkin's office, key findings from the report found:
- The operational, procedural and infrastructure failures at the City of Richmond Water Treatment Plant (WTP) were “completely avoidable.”
- Operating in a so-called “winter mode” meant relying solely on overhead main power, eliminating critical redundancy.
- Critical backup systems, including backup batteries, were not properly maintained despite known flood risks.
- Ineffective emergency plans and manual procedures hampered the WTP’s response when power was lost.
VDH will reportedly coordinate with city officials to develop and implement a corrective action plan to address these issues and prevent future outages.
“The disruption of a safe and reliable water supply in Richmond this past January never should have happened,” Youngkin said. “Moving forward, it should never happen again, and I’ve directed the Department of Health to ensure Richmond takes all corrective actions necessary to achieve that objective. The people of Richmond and the surrounding counties persevered through this preventable crisis, and now it’s time for city leaders to step up for their citizens.”
Stay with 8News as we continue to update this article with more information as we read through the report.
