Richmond forms 2 'strategic work groups' to address water sustainability; 1 will involve Henrico officials

City of Richmond officials have formed two strategic work groups to focus on planning for a sustainable and resilient water future throughout the region, according to Richmond Mayor Danny Avula.

One of the two groups involves officials from the city, Henrico, Chesterfield and Hanover counties and will focus on operational planning and coordination, according to city officials.

“The group will review proposed capital improvement plans, evaluate rate models, coordinate on potential state funding requests, and conduct joint tabletop exercises,” according to a July 17 press release issued by Avula's office. “It will also establish a consistent structure for Richmond’s Department of Public Utilities to provide routine updates to regional partners.”

The other work group, led by new Richmond Chief Administrative Officers Odie Donald and Richmond Public Utilities Director Scott Morris, involves only city officials and will focus on scenario planning. It will be tasked with evaluating a range of options related to water service, such as capital investment needs, debt management strategies and impacts to water customers.

“External financial and rate consultants, including Davenport Financial Advisors and Raftelis, will be brought in as needed,” according to Avula's office.

Both work groups already have held initial meetings, according to the mayor's office, which provided no additional details about when those meetings took place.

“These two work groups mark a critical step forward in building a stronger, more resilient water system for the region,” said Avula.

The formation of the groups comes about two and-a-half weeks after elected officials from Richmond and Henrico held a joint meeting in the city to discuss the region's water needs, following a series of water issues that impacted the two localities during the first half of the year.

Richmond's water treatment facility suffered a catastrophic failure during a snowstorm in January that led to several days of water outages for some customers in the region, including thousands in Eastern and Northern Henrico, whose water comes from the plant. Three other smaller incidents since then have had city and county residents on edge and elected officials in the county worried about whether – or when – similar problems could occur again.

Though that meeting ended without any clear sense of what would come next, Richmond City Council members said they would discuss Avula's proposal to form a regional work group about the water issue during their July 7 meeting, which they did during a closed session.

Thursday's announcement was the first public statement from either locality about the next steps since then.

Henrico is contractually obligated to purchase about 12 million gallons of water from the city every day through July 1, 2040 as part of a contract the two localities signed in 1994. (Henrico's water treatment facility serves the county's West End and some of Northern Henrico, while water from the city's treatment facility serves the rest of the county.)

But during the June 30 meeting, Avula suggested that there might be an opportunity to "rethink" that agreement if other plans (such as, potentially, joint management of the city's water treatment facility) are enacted.

Henrico officials already have begun the process of funding massive enhancements to their own water system, allocating $50 million in the current fiscal year budget toward a $328-million project to install 13 miles of large water main pipes to carry water from the county's West End treatment facility to Eastern Henrico.

That project could be finished within five or six years, officials believe, and will provide the county with the ability to serve all of its residents with Henrico water in future cases of emergency – or on a permanent basis, should the county's contract with Richmond be dissolved earlier than 2040.

Earlier Thursday, Richmond’s Water Treatment Plant increased the volume of water supplied to Henrico County during maintenance at Henrico’s treatment facility, a move that city and county officials touted in separate press releases as an example of regional cooperation. Both localities confirmed their reservoirs and storage tanks were full, and the transition was monitored by system operators, ensuring uninterrupted service to customers in both localities. 

“Just today, we saw that spirit of collaboration in action as Richmond provided additional water to our neighboring locality [Henrico] during their planned maintenance. That’s what partnership looks like: clear communication, shared problem-solving, and mutual support. I’m excited for what’s ahead.”

“These work groups and real-time collaborations are exactly what it takes to meet the challenges of modern infrastructure,” said Morris. “The ability to assist Henrico in this way underscores our capacity, but more importantly, it shows how jurisdictional coordination helps us all move forward with confidence.”

Avula's office touted the work groups as further evidence of the spirit of regional cooperation.

“These efforts reflect Richmond’s commitment to deep and thoughtful analysis and regional partnership to ensure long-term, reliable water infrastructure for the decades ahead,” according to the office.