Henrico County is discouraged by the repeated operational failures and communications breakdowns associated with Richmond’s water treatment plant.
The latest incident, in which unknown amounts of additional fluoride were introduced to the city’s drinking water last Wednesday, was not promptly communicated to Henrico or other municipal customers.
Henrico officials first learned of the issue late Sunday night when they were contacted by two state agencies – the Virginia Department of Emergency Management at 9:38 p.m. and the Virginia Department of Health at 9:43 p.m. The first interaction from the city’s Department of Public Utilities came about 10:30 p.m.
Henrico and its Department of Public Utilities are working closely with state agencies, the city and other localities to more fully understand what occurred and how water customers throughout the region may have been impacted. The Department of Health will issue a notice about the incident and its implications for public health.
Henrico water customers are encouraged to call Public Utilities at 804-501-4516 if they have any questions or concerns. The department is expanding its water-testing protocols beyond the current 150 testing locations to include daily sampling at points of entry from the city’s water system to ensure quality standards are maintained throughout the system. Water samples tested today by Henrico Public Utilities showed a fluoride level of 1.19 parts per million (ppm) at a point of entry from the city’s system. That level is higher than the recommended 0.7 ppm and lower than the 4.0 ppm that requires notice to regulatory agencies. The department will continue to monitor fluoride levels and may consider flushing lines to help restore the system to normal.
This episode, which comes on the heels of the city’s water service disruptions of January, shows once again that the region’s localities need to play a more prominent role in the delivery of drinking water to their customers. Henrico stands ready to partner with the city as well as Chesterfield and Hanover counties to ensure that the entire community has access to drinking water that’s reliable, safe and of the highest quality.