Henrico County Public Schools to be closed on Friday due to boil water advisory

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Henrico County Public Schools will be closed on Friday, with some employees to report to work, as a countywide boil water advisory remains in effect. According to Henrico County Public Schools, all schools and offices will remain closed on Friday, Jan. 10, with all after-school and extracurricular activities canceled due to a boil water advisory in effect for all of the county. On Thursday, Henrico County's Department of Public Utilities said residents impacted by the water outage should start seeing their water flow slowly return, however, the boil water advisory is still in effect. "Although we are seeing progress in water restoration, the countywide boil water advisory remains in effect. As a result, [Henrico Public Schools] cannot safely operate drinking fountains, meal service and handwashing stations among other essential services," the school district said in its statement. The school district said 12-month employees can choose to work onsite or remotely as they are able to. All central and site-based facilities staff should report to work on time to continue to assess and prepare buildings to reopen on Monday, according to the school district. According to Henrico County Public Schools, the following three schools will be available until 8 p.m. Thursday for residents who are still experiencing a shortage of water in their homes and need to use showers and bathroom facilities: J.R. Tucker High School Brookland Middle School L. Douglas Wilder Middle School Residents should bring their own toiletries, including towels, washcloths, soap and shampoo. According to the school district, Henrico Public Schools volunteers have also been handing out water bottles at each school when available.