Henrico County builds water resilience after Richmond crisis exposed regional vulnerabilities
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Richmond's 2025 water crisis exposed serious dysfunction and communication breakdowns between the city and its regional partners. County utilities directors weren't informed about the severity of the disaster for hours, leaving communities vulnerable and without critical information.
For Henrico County, which relies on Richmond for about a third of its water supply, the aftermath brought sharp focus on how to handle future issues with their regional partner.
"Self sufficiency is important, but it's important in the sense of redundancy, that there is another valve that you can open, another tap that you can open to bring water to parts of the county that are normally served by the city," said Bentley Chan, Henrico's Director of Public Utilities.
Chan says Henrico has moved forward significantly since last year's water crisis left eastern parts of the county vulnerable and without water. One key element is building a $300 million water line announced last fall that will bring water from their Three Chopt water plant in the west all the way to the Varina and Fairfield districts in the east.
But Chan adds another major development in Henrico's resiliency is how his team can now communicate effectively with their counterparts in Richmond.
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