VDH Office of Drinking Water speaks after Notice of Alleged Violation is sent to Richmond for fluoride spike

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The City of Richmond recently received a Notice of Alleged Violation (NOAV) from the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) regarding a fluoride spike last month, after pump issues in the water treatment plant.

VDH sample results revealed that fluoride levels in Chesterfield County reached 3.86 mg/L on April 25 -- just .14 milligrams shy of the recommended 4.0mg/L maximum level set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Director of VDH's Office of Drinking Water (ODW) Dwayne Roadcap said despite the incident, fluoride levels at the Richmond reservoir did not get close to exceeding four milligrams and would not have caused any health effects because of the short duration in the water supply.

“If we had gotten samples that were above four, the regulations say that you need to notify the public within 30 days about that event,” Roadcap said. “If you have something that's less than four but above two, then you need to notify them within 12 months.”

Roadcap said it's not clear how high the levels might have been at Richmond’s plant to cause such a high level in Chesterfield.

Chesterfield's officials sent a statement saying, “We continue to work with the city, our regional partners, and the Virginia Department of Health to strengthen communications and ensure the Richmond Water Treatment Plant provides safe, reliable water to our community.”

Roadcap said he has confidence that water plant staff can turn this around, but they need to act faster.

“Be more proactive, be more curious and develop that team with all its different work units so that there can be better conversations and more active communication and work,” Roadcap said.

A Richmond Department of Public Utilities (DPU) spokesperson said when fluoride levels were detected, grab process samples were taken from the water plant in both basins. The highest of these samples was 2.67 mg/L.

They also reiterated that at no point did samples collected in the distribution system indicate the fluoridation level exceeded the MCL of 4.0 mg/L within the region. The highest detectable value was 3.86 mg/L as stated in the NOAV.

8News contacted Henrico, Hanover and a third-party engineer for more details but haven’t heard back.