Richmonders push to reopen historic springs after water crisis
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- For the past decade, Richmonder Laney Sullivan has been petitioning to reopen the city's historic springs, a vital source of water in Richmond in the 1800s and 1900s. "I've been trying to get the city to reopen Fonticello Springs for almost a decade," Sullivan said. "But then when this water crisis happened, it really brought to my attention how vital of a resource these springs were." Sullivan started the petition when the water outage hit and has received over 1,000 signatures- including Councilwoman Stephanie Lynch. The petition calls on the mayor to revamp Richmond's springs, and Sullivan said there are somewhere around a dozen of them in the city. So, what is a spring? “It comes out of the earth in what they call an 'eye,' the origin, the source of the water. That source is a heavy flow of water, enough to produce a pond here," said local historian Richard Bland. The city managed these springs in the 19th century, providing fresh water to thousands until they stopped funding and began to fear contamination. Fonticello's spring closed in 2013, Sullivan said. Plenty of neighbors still remember using them growing up, like Floyd Lee Brown Jr. "The water was so pure that we just, man, it was amazing," Brown recalled. Brown said the springs were more than just a source of water, they were a source of community. "[There was] always somebody was at the springs," he said. "The older gentlemen in the neighborhood used to ride here on Saturdays in the car. They'd come in, get a chair, sit out here, and talk to us, give us some knowledge." It's knowledge he said he couldn't get anywhere else, adding that there was a surge in people using the springs during Richmond's algae water crisis in the 1980s -- something Brown said could have been useful during last week's water outage. But are the springs safe to reopen, and can the city make them a reliable source of water again? "It would require the local government to come in and treat that water in the same way that they filter and treat and add chlorine and so forth to the general water supply," said VCU history professor Gregory Smithers. Smithers said that with the amount of money it would cost to revive these springs, he believes it's unlikely that Richmond City would invest the time and money that's needed to do this. "Even if they boiled that water, there would still be bacteria that survived and levels of material and turbidity in that water that runs the risk of making people sick," he said. As more signatures are added to the petition, it still seems like some Richmonders are ready for that fight. "When they redesigned it, it was like man we lost something," Brown said. "We lost something in the community." As the city continues to deal with water infrastructure challenges, it's unclear if Richmond's historic springs will ever flow again- but you can support the cause by signing the petition here.
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RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- For the past decade, Richmonder Laney Sullivan has been petitioning to reopen the city's historic springs, a vital source of water in Richmond in the 1800s and 1900s.
"I've been trying to get the city to reopen Fonticello Springs for almost a decade," Sullivan said. "But then when this water crisis happened, it really brought to my attention how vital of a resource these springs were."
Sullivan started the petition when the water outage hit and has received over 1,000 signatures- including Councilwoman Stephanie Lynch. The petition calls on the mayor to revamp Richmond's springs, and Sullivan said there are somewhere around a dozen of them in the city.
So, what is a spring?
“It comes out of the earth in what they call an 'eye,' the origin, the source of the water. That source is a heavy flow of water, enough to produce a pond here," said local historian Richard Bland.
The city managed these springs in the 19th century, providing fresh water to thousands until they stopped funding and began to fear contamination. Fonticello's spring closed in 2013, Sullivan said.
Plenty of neighbors still remember using them growing up, like Floyd Lee Brown Jr.
"The water was so pure that we just, man, it was amazing," Brown recalled.
Brown said the springs were more than just a source of water, they were a source of community.
"[There was] always somebody was at the springs," he said. "The older gentlemen in the neighborhood used to ride here on Saturdays in the car. They'd come in, get a chair, sit out here, and talk to us, give us some knowledge."
It's knowledge he said he couldn't get anywhere else, adding that there was a surge in people using the springs during Richmond's algae water crisis in the 1980s -- something Brown said could have been useful during last week's water outage.
But are the springs safe to reopen, and can the city make them a reliable source of water again?
"It would require the local government to come in and treat that water in the same way that they filter and treat and add chlorine and so forth to the general water supply," said VCU history professor Gregory Smithers.
Smithers said that with the amount of money it would cost to revive these springs, he believes it's unlikely that Richmond City would invest the time and money that's needed to do this.
"Even if they boiled that water, there would still be bacteria that survived and levels of material and turbidity in that water that runs the risk of making people sick," he said.
As more signatures are added to the petition, it still seems like some Richmonders are ready for that fight.
"When they redesigned it, it was like man we lost something," Brown said. "We lost something in the community."
As the city continues to deal with water infrastructure challenges, it's unclear if Richmond's historic springs will ever flow again- but you can support the cause by signing the petition here.
