Boil water advisory in Richmond continues

RICHMOND, Va. — Some Richmond neighborhoods remain under a boil water advisory Wednesday after the city’s water treatment plant experienced an operational issue early Tuesday that temporarily reduced water production, according to city officials.

In an announcement Wednesday morning, city officials shared that “significant progress was made towards filling the reservoir and water tanks” overnight.

The advisory can be lifted after the city has confirmed two negative water sample tests, spaced 16 hours apart.

The first set of samples, one from each affected zone, was taken around 7 p.m. on Tuesday. The quality test results of that first set are expected to be in by tonight.

The Department of Public Utilities took the second set of samples today around noon today. Results from the second set will take approximately 24 hours.

On Tuesday night, Mayor Danny Avula said the earliest the advisory could be lifted is mid-day on Thursday.

At this time, the city will only be providing bottled water to healthcare facilities, senior living facilities, manufactured home communities, public housing neighborhoods, shelters, and Richmond Public Schools.

Richmond Public Schools are open Wednesday, according to a newsletter from the district. Bottled water and pre-packaged meal options will be available to students through the last day of school on Friday.

Which areas are under a boil water advisory?

While the city’s initial communication about the situation at 9 a.m. on Tuesday said the water was safe and a boil water advisory was not needed, an update sent at 11:30 a.m. issued an immediate boil water advisory for communities served by the Ginter Park Tank, which include:

• Byrd Park
• Brookland Park
• Carver
• Carytown
• Chamberlayne
• The Fan
• Ginter Park
• Jackson Ward
• Laburnum Park
• the Museum District
• the North Side
• Oregon Hill
• Randolph
• Scott’s Addition
• VCU’s Monroe Park campus
• Parts of the city center

The boil water advisory was expanded to include the following areas as of 5:52 p.m. Tuesday:

• Ancarrow’s Landing
• Bellemeade
• Blackwell
• Commerce Road Industrial Area
• Hillside Court
• Davee Gardens
• Manchester
• Oak Grove
• Windsor

The city added that Windsor Farms was incorrectly included in a prior announcement.

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On Tuesday afternoon, Avula said restaurants and businesses can continue to operate if they are able to follow the boil advisory guidelines.

What about Hanover, Henrico, and Chesterfield Counties?

Areas outside of Richmond are not impacted by the boil water advisory.

Wednesday morning, leaders said Henrico County as able to refill its reserve tanks overnight and are temporarily providing water to customers in the county’s eastern area while the city continues efforts to restore its water treatment plant to normal operations.

Hanover County said on Wednesday morning that residents in Ashland and Mechanicsville may notice slightly reduced water pressure that’s because of trimmed back pressure to reduce how much water is being pulled from Richmond while the city continues recovery. They added that everything is still within safe and compliant levels.

Below is a checklist for safe water use during this time:  

• Do not drink tap water during this boil water alert.  
• Do not drink from water fountains in parks, public or private buildings that receive water from the City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities. 
• Do not use ice made from water today. Discard the ice and sanitize the ice machine and/or ice trays. 
• Do not use tap water to make drinks, juices, or fountain soft drinks. 
• Do not wash your dishes using tap water – use boiled water or use paper plates.
• Do not wash your fruits and vegetables with tap water – use boiled or bottled water. 
• Do not brush your teeth with tap water — use boiled or bottled water.  
• Do not cook with tap water, unless your food will be boiled vigorously for three minutes. 

Temporary water conservation tips: 

• Eliminate or shorten shower times. 
• Avoid unnecessary toilet flushes. 
• Avoid washing clothes for as long as possible.
• Postpone washing dishes if possible. 
• Check all faucets, shower heads and under cabinets for drips. 

What Happened?

On Tuesday, Richmond Mayor Danny Avula’s office said, “due to high turbidity in the system, some of the plant’s filters clogged, temporarily reducing finished water production.”

That statement also said, “Despite the reduction, the plant continued to produce enough water to maintain safe system pressure levels — above the threshold that would have required a boil water advisory.”

“DPU and the city considered issuing a localized boil advisory, but, after a thorough assessment, it was determined that no advisory was necessary,” the 9 a.m. statement continued.

The city has not yet said what changed between 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.

City officials said they contacted the Virginia Department of Health and the counties shortly after midnight and throughout the morning as they managed the situation.

Years-long issues with the Richmond water treatment plant came to a head in January 2025 when a power outage left the city and some surrounding counties without clean water for days.

The Richmond water crisis led to both leadership and procedural changes within the city’s Department of Public Utilities.

“I’ll take a hard look at what happened and identify any future improvements needed,” Avula continued.

The Department of Public Utilities will investigate what caused the latest incident.

This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.

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