Henrico supervisors accept invitation to meet with Avula, Richmond City Council about regional water needs
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In a joint statement issued Monday afternoon, the Henrico Board of Supervisors expressed its eagerness to meet with Richmond City Council and Richmond Mayor Danny Avula about the region’s water supply and the Richmond water treatment plant.
In the statement, which came in response to an invitation issued June 20 by Avula for a joint meeting of the city council and board of supervisors, board members offered Avula and the council nearly 20 times on 11 days on or before Aug. 1 on which they would be available to meet.
“As we have seen with our recent and collaborative conversations with the Hanover County Board of Supervisors on June 11, these joint discussions among elected bodies are essential,” supervisors wrote in the statement. “Henrico remains committed to working with our neighboring localities to improve the redundancy and resiliency of our region’s drinking water system.”
On Friday, Avula also invited Henrico, Chesterfield and Hanover officials to join Richmond officials in forming a regional advisory group to discuss “the future of the region’s drinking water system.”
The goal, he said: to form a group that could “explore a path forward to ensure a strong and sustainable water infrastructure for all.”
The advisory group will work to identify regional challenges, align priorities and build consensus around strategies for drinking water system resilience, Avula said.
“We are closely connected with our regional partners, and it is vitally important that we intentionally plan for a resilient, thriving regional water system. I’m confident that by putting the greater Richmond region at the center of our solution, we can move forward with a shared approach that meets the needs of Richmonders and neighboring localities.”
In their statement Monday, Henrico supervisors applauded the advisory group concept.
“We see the potential value in such a group and believe discussions about forming such a group should occur as part of an open dialogue between the two elected bodies of Richmond and Henrico, the city’s largest water consumer,” they wrote. “Ultimately, the creation of a regional body such as this, while supported by the mayor, can only be achieved with the concurrence of City Council, as well.”
