RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) — The city of Richmond issued a boil water advisory Monday afternoon following a winter storm-related outage that caused issues at a water treatment facility serving the city.
According to city officials, a power outage at a water treatment facility earlier Monday morning caused a pump failure.
“Dominion Energy always prioritizes power restoration for critical infrastructure during storms,” a spokesperson said. ”We promptly responded to the reported outage at the facility and fully restored power at 9:39 a.m. The facility has had uninterrupted power since that time.”
A backup generator immediately started at the facility, but the failure caused flooding. Mayor Danny Avula said at a press conference that the flooding is under control and about eight filters are working.
Officials say the city is tapping into a land reservoir in the 5th council district, but it will soon be empty. They could not answer how long the reserve will last, but there is a plan for fire emergencies.
The city issued an immediate boil water advisory for all residents. Crews are working to restore water pressure, but the advisory will not be lifted for at least another 24 to 48 hours because of testing.
City officials have not yet given a timeline for fixing the pump.
So far, some residents have reported varying degrees of low or no water pressure.
Officials recommend the following for safe water use during this issue
- Do not drink tap water.
- Do not drink from water fountains in parks or 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. This also applies to water and ice dispensed directly from a refrigerator.
- Do not use tap water to make drinks, juices, or fountain soft drinks.
- 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.
Chesterfield, Henrico, and Hanover counties have removed themselves from the city’s water supply and transferred their water to other sources.
The boil water advisory does not impact residents in those counties.
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