‘Safe to drink’: Expert reacts to public health concerns exposed in federal report on Richmond’s water supply
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- After a federal investigation from 2022 cited a series of potential public health threats within Richmond's water system, 8News is hearing from an expert about what this actually means for those of us drinking the city's water. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency listed concerns ranging from things like aging infrastructure and corroded pipes to chemical leaks and rust found in Richmond's water plant filter rooms. That all can sound very scary, so 8News spoke with Joel Paulsen, a licensed engineer — not affiliated with the city nor the state — to help us understand what these findings mean for our drinking water supply. "The water is going to be safe to drink," Paulsen said. That's an answer many Richmonders may be seeking after a week under a boil water advisory and amid the surfacing of the, arguably concerning, 2022 EPA report on the city's water system. "The U.S. EPA came in and did an inspection in 2022," said Dwayne Roadcap with the Virginia Department of Health's Office of Drinking Water. "They had a number of recommendations and areas of concern with respect to the plant." A weather-related power outage on Monday, Jan. 6, launched the city into a water crisis. Now that leaders say Richmond's tap water is back and clean, we're waiting on an after-action report from the city about what went wrong at that water treatment facility. Meanwhile, Paulsen walked us through what we should know about this parallel federal investigation. 8News asked the industry professional what pieces of the report first stood out to him. "Rusts, debris, you know, those sorts of things ... sedimentation in the water, smells ... all of those things were noted within the report," Paulsen reflected. "And that would be an indication that the water is being delivered through an aging water system." The licensed engineer clarified that the city is still federally required to monitor water quality, so — even with contamination risks listed in this federal report — like chemical leaks and algae growth around the pipes and gauges, the city's routine water testing would show if there was an active contamination threat. The expert suggested it's a deeper, more long-term concern about protocol and the city's infrastructure holding up in future crises. He pointed to another concern along that vein. "Inadequate monitoring and maintenance," Paulsen remarked. "So there were many notes that talked about, you know, not modern-day or up-to-date instrumentation used for monitoring." That type of responsibility falls on Richmond's Department of Public Utilities. Last week, the department's director April Bingham addressed the EPA report and whether its findings were connected to the water crisis. "I can't, right today, say that they were connected," Bingham said. "The response and research that we've done to provide our response back to EPA has been very thorough and inclusive ... But [they are] two totally separate incidents.'" Paulsen said that while the recent water crisis is "extremely rare for a community of Richmond's size," it's not uncommon for water systems to be old. In fact, it's a topic he said needs attention all around. "We do need to reinvest in the nation's infrastructure," Paulsen said. "And I think cases like Richmond, and in others that have happened around the country, are all indications that we need to do a better job of replacing things before they get to the point of failure." Bingham said her team has addressed the 2022 EPA report and 8News has requested access to her response so we can get some clarification. It's also worth noting that the city has reported 22 water main breaks since last Tuesday. Paulsen said a high occurrence of water main breaks -- like in Richmond -- could be another sign that the system is old and needs investment and replacement.
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RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- After a federal investigation from 2022 cited a series of potential public health threats within Richmond's water system, 8News is hearing from an expert about what this actually means for those of us drinking the city's water.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency listed concerns ranging from things like aging infrastructure and corroded pipes to chemical leaks and rust found in Richmond's water plant filter rooms. That all can sound very scary, so 8News spoke with Joel Paulsen, a licensed engineer — not affiliated with the city nor the state — to help us understand what these findings mean for our drinking water supply.
"The water is going to be safe to drink," Paulsen said.
That's an answer many Richmonders may be seeking after a week under a boil water advisory and amid the surfacing of the, arguably concerning, 2022 EPA report on the city's water system.
"The U.S. EPA came in and did an inspection in 2022," said Dwayne Roadcap with the Virginia Department of Health's Office of Drinking Water. "They had a number of recommendations and areas of concern with respect to the plant."
A weather-related power outage on Monday, Jan. 6, launched the city into a water crisis.
Now that leaders say Richmond's tap water is back and clean, we're waiting on an after-action report from the city about what went wrong at that water treatment facility. Meanwhile, Paulsen walked us through what we should know about this parallel federal investigation.
8News asked the industry professional what pieces of the report first stood out to him.
"Rusts, debris, you know, those sorts of things ... sedimentation in the water, smells ... all of those things were noted within the report," Paulsen reflected. "And that would be an indication that the water is being delivered through an aging water system."
The licensed engineer clarified that the city is still federally required to monitor water quality, so — even with contamination risks listed in this federal report — like chemical leaks and algae growth around the pipes and gauges, the city's routine water testing would show if there was an active contamination threat.
The expert suggested it's a deeper, more long-term concern about protocol and the city's infrastructure holding up in future crises. He pointed to another concern along that vein.
"Inadequate monitoring and maintenance," Paulsen remarked. "So there were many notes that talked about, you know, not modern-day or up-to-date instrumentation used for monitoring."
That type of responsibility falls on Richmond's Department of Public Utilities. Last week, the department's director April Bingham addressed the EPA report and whether its findings were connected to the water crisis.
"I can't, right today, say that they were connected," Bingham said. "The response and research that we've done to provide our response back to EPA has been very thorough and inclusive ... But [they are] two totally separate incidents.'"
Paulsen said that while the recent water crisis is "extremely rare for a community of Richmond's size," it's not uncommon for water systems to be old. In fact, it's a topic he said needs attention all around.
"We do need to reinvest in the nation's infrastructure," Paulsen said. "And I think cases like Richmond, and in others that have happened around the country, are all indications that we need to do a better job of replacing things before they get to the point of failure."
Bingham said her team has addressed the 2022 EPA report and 8News has requested access to her response so we can get some clarification.
It's also worth noting that the city has reported 22 water main breaks since last Tuesday. Paulsen said a high occurrence of water main breaks -- like in Richmond -- could be another sign that the system is old and needs investment and replacement.
