Henrico disconnects from city water; no boil water advisory in effect

Henrico residents do not need to boil their water as a result of the latest problem with the City of Richmond’s water treatment facility, because the county has temporarily disconnected from the city's water supply and is serving some customers with reserve water from county tanks.

County officials made the announcement May 27 just before 1:30 p.m. and confirmed that the county's water system remained stable as of 3:30 p.m. and again at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday evening, the county opened its emergency operations center as a precaution, officials said.

The majority of filters at the city’s facility became clogged by excessive sediment in the James River late Monday, and by late Tuesday morning, the city had issued a boil water advisory for many of its customers.

The county learned about the issue at about 12:27 a.m. Tuesday, according to county officials. By 7:30 a.m., county officials had closed all the valves that supply city water to the county and instead were serving residents who normally receive city water with water that was being stored in Henrico water tanks, which were filled to capacity.

A portion of the county – Eastern Henrico and some of Northern Henrico – typically receives water from the city’s water treatment facility through a longstanding contract between the county and city, although those customers are billed by Henrico County. (The city’s water treatment facility is closer to those portions of the county than Henrico’s own facility in the West End.)

Water pressure remains normal throughout Henrico, officials said, and Henrico Public Utilities officials are testing water samples throughout the county’s system. Henrico officials also are working with their counterparts in Hanover, have also has been impacted.

Henrico County has staffers at the city’s water treatment plant and “will provide resources as needed to navigate the situation,” according to a statement.

Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas told the Citizen that he learned about the issue at about 4 a.m. Tuesday and that communication from the city to the county has been "constant" in the hours since.

The county disconnected from city water "out of an abundance of caution," he said.

January water crisis and drills since streamlined Tuesday's response

A January water crisis, caused by flooding of the Richmond water treatment facility, ultimately prompted a boil water advisory for all of Henrico County and left tens of thousands of Richmond and Henrico water customers without water for several days.

During that crisis, county officials eventually shut off, temporarily, all the valves that carry water from the city to the county. It was something they'd never had to do before, but in the months since, they've prepared for the possibility of having to do so again, Chan said, and it paid off Tuesday. A process that took the better part of 24 hours in January took just a few hours this time.

"We knew exactly where to go and what to do, and we had done these drills ever since January," he said. "All of that paid off, and we’re extremely thankful that we were ready."

County officials also made sure that all of Henrico's 10 sets of water tanks throughout the county were filled either to, or above, capacity, Chan said.

That's paying off now. Although the city's facility is running, it's producing 40 million to 45 million gallons of water per day – just below its typical production of about 50 million gallons per day, Richmond Mayor Danny Avula said during a Tuesday afternoon press briefing.

Until it returns to that normal level and subsequent water quality tests meet necessary standards – a process that takes about 24 hours – the county will serve its affected customers with water from some of those 10 sets of water tanks (most of which include multiple tanks), Chan said.

In total, those water tanks hold enough water to last 24 to 48 hours, but officials are hoping to extend that timeline by encouraging customers in Northern and Eastern Henrico to conserve water when possible until the county can reconnect to the city's water supply, Chan said.

"At this time, we’re fairly confident that there won’t be a need for Henrico to issue a boil water advisory, but we are prepared should anything change," Chan said.

This is a breaking news story.