Richmond commits to more fixes at its water treatment plant, ‘will continue on that path’
VENN
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Richmond has formally pledged that it is fully addressing the issues at its water treatment plant that led to the city's second boil water advisory in just six months.
On Thursday, July 10, city officials announced that Richmond has entered into an Order of Consent with the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) to resolve alleged violations the state agency identified amid a late May boil water advisory.
From Tuesday, May 27 until Thursday, May 29, parts of Richmond were under a boil water advisory after filters at the water treatment plant clogged with “excessive sediment."
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City leaders later explained that these filters hadn’t been cleaned properly in months, as their maintenance was delayed.
What was the city accused of?
Within a June 16 Notice of Alleged Violation (NOAV), the VDH's Office of Drinking Water (ODW) accused Richmond of violating three of Virginia's Waterworks Regulations during this crisis event. Those violations are as follows:
- Richmond failed to ensure reliability and capability. The city is accused of failing to "assure a high degree of capability and reliability" at its water treatment plant, "as evidenced by the unplanned [boil water advisory.]" This incident "demonstrated a lack of sufficient institutional oversight of operations and maintenance projects at the [plant,] which increases risk to public health."
- Richmond failed to perform important maintenance in a timely manner. The city is accused of failing to "timely perform preventative and necessary maintenance to prevent the [boil water advisory]," referring to the DPU delaying appropriate cleaning of the involved water filters.
- Richmond failed to provide adequate water pressure. The city is accused of failing to provide "a minimum working pressure of 20 [psig] at all service connections," referring to some residents either having low or no water pressure during the boil water advisory.
This was both Richmond's third water-related crisis event and its third NOAV in just six months. The first NOAV was issued in connection with January’s widespread water crisis, while the second was issued in April after a pump installation failure caused a fluoride spike within Richmond’s water system.
The ODW concluded that May's boil water advisory was "completely avoidable, just like the water crisis in January 2025 and the fluoride overfeed incident."
Even though heavy rainfall in early May lowered water quality within the James River, other water treatment plants in the area were able to handle that added stress. Richmond would have been able to, as well, if it hadn't delayed cleaning its water filters, the VDH said.
What changes have been or will be made?
An Order of Consent is a formalized agreement that any and all of the related violations will be addressed. According to Scott Morris, the director of the city's Department of Public Utilities (DPU), substantial progress has already been made.
"The corrective actions already accomplished by [Richmond DPU] demonstrate our commitment to compliance and proactive partnership with VDH," Morris wrote in a July 9 letter to the state agency. "DPU maintains its position as a proud partner in protecting the health and safety of Richmond residents by providing clean and safe drinking water. Over the past six months, DPU has taken progressive steps to normalize business operations and will continue on that path."
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Specifically, the following corrective actions have been taken -- or are in progress -- in connection with the May boil water advisory as of Thursday:
- Changed maintenance procedures. The routine cleaning of filters and plate settlers has been reclassified as preventative maintenance, preventing it from being delayed for subjective reasons.
- Engaged an expert on water quality changes. The city has hired an engineering firm to evaluate and make recommendations on "best practices to address changes in water quality and to maximize finished performance."
- Engaged an expert on coagulation. The city is working with a coagulation expert. "A report has been created" that "evaluates and makes recommendations on how to improve the [plant's] performance with respect to coagulation, settling processes and filtration practices." This report was submitted to VDH for review.
- Reviewed maintenance work at the plant. The city has formally reviewed all relevant preventative maintenance activities.
- Reviewing operating standards at the plant. The city has submitted multiple standard operating procedures (SOPs) relevant to this crisis event to the VDH for review.
- Planning to conduct more training. The city has "committed to conducting annual training" once the VDH reviews the submitted SOPs.
The city will also have to pay the VDH about $1,482 in civil charges.
This is the second Order of Consent that Richmond has entered into with the VDH this year. The first was in response to the water crisis NOAV, which listed two alleged violations.
As of the time of reporting, an Order of Consent for April's fluoride incident has not been released.
For all of 8News’ coverage on the Richmond water crisis, click here.
