Henrico County’s water remains safe after water main break in Richmond

Editor's note: This article has been updated to reflect the status of Henrico County's water during the water main break in Richmond.

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Henrico County water remains safe to drink after a water main break in Richmond that left the county with low water pressure.

According to an announcement from the county, Henrico's water remains safe for use as Public Utilities crews and the City of Richmond work to manage the "impacts of a large water main break."

The water main break came after low water pressure was reported by some residents in Henrico County on Thursday, May 29, due to a water main break in Richmond.

In an announcement from the county on Thursday, officials reported that Henrico customers may experience "lower-than-normal water pressure as crews work to manage flows across the system without putting excessive pressure on the break site," and is urging residents to limit water use as of Friday.

The county has also opened a drive-thru water distribution site at Best Plaza, located at 1400 Best Plaza Drive.

A distribution site at Harvie Elementary School, 3401 Harvie Road, will also open on Saturday, May 31. Residents may pick up one case of water per car, daily from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Henrico County responded to the water issues in a news conference at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, May 30, and at that time, the county manager, John A. Vithoulkas, estimated Richmond's water main repairs would be completed by late Monday, June 2 -- however, officials said they hope to have it completed sooner.

According to officials, the county opened its emergency operations center on Thursday evening after learning of the water main break located on Canal Street in Richmond at around 6 p.m. that day.

Henrico County said its utilities technicians are onsite and will remain there to support operations at the Richmond water treatment plant.

Additionally, overnight on Thursday, when system use was reportedly low, Henrico Public Utilities routed water from the county’s Water Treatment Facility in western Henrico to replenish its reserve tanks in eastern Henrico, which were able to serve customers in the county's central and eastern areas that receive water directly from Richmond's distribution system.

As the county relied on those reserves this week when operational issues took place at Richmond's water treatment plant, officials said the tanks are on pace to be refilled to capacity around midday on Saturday.