Richmond’s fluoride system functional for first time since January

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- The City of Richmond has announced that its fluoride system is back online at its Water Treatment Plant after it was damaged in January and following a spike in fluoride levels in April.

On Monday, May 19, Richmond placed its Water Treatment Plant fluoride system back online after it was damaged from flooding during the Richmond Water Crisis on Jan. 6.

According to the city, the return to normal operations means fluoride is being added to drinking water and will enter the distribution system by Tuesday, May 20.

"The fluoride system is now fully operational and all system checks have been completed," the city said in a press release. "Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) have been created and staff have been trained accordingly."

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This comes after the City of Richmond revealed that a pump installation in April had caused fluoride levels to increase in the city’s water system temporarily. "Unknown amounts" entered drinking water over a period of five hours.

Despite being connected to that water supply, the counties of Henrico and Hanover were not notified of this incident until Sunday, April 27, per the counties’ press releases.

On Monday, May 12, the city received a Notice of Alleged Violation from the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), which alleged that Richmond appeared to have operated its Waterworks in violation of the Public Water Supplies law when the spike in fluoride levels occurred in April.

The city reported that fluoride levels did not exceed 2.69 milligrams per liter (mg/L) -- however, the VDH later discovered that the tools used to test the fluoride levels could not read higher than 2 mg/L. Additionally, 2 mg/L is still high enough to potentially cause dental fluorosis -- or the permanent discoloration of teeth -- in children 9 years old or younger.

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Richmond's Department of Public Utilities (DPU) has reportedly reprogrammed the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) scale and alert system and calibrated measurement equipment, which the city said are in alignment with actions taken to address the concerns raised by VDH in the Notice of Alleged Violation.  

According to the city, the DPU has been in regular contact with VDH and has worked in coordination with the department, as well as with the counties of Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico.

Officials said VDH and regional partners were onsite to observe the fluoride system as Water Treatment Plant staff established treatment and over the next several days will increase dosage to the recommended optimal target of 0.7 mg/L.

The drinking water leaving the City of Richmond’s Water Treatment Plant has remained safe for consumption, according to officials, and the city's DPU will continue to monitor the fluoride levels and perform sampling.