Water remains safe; residents encouraged to pick up bottled water to limit system use
Henrico County will reconnect to Richmond’s water distribution system this morning and will remain connected until late tonight when city crews resume work to repair a water main at Seventh and Canal streets in downtown. Henrico’s water remains safe for consumption and use, and customers should see normal pressure.
As planned, the Department of Public Utilities disconnected from the city’s system shortly before 10 p.m. Sunday to allow the city repairs to occur during overnight hours when system use is low. Throughout the night, customers in areas of eastern Henrico were served with water from the county’s reserve tanks. Public Utilities will follow the same process late tonight, allowing city crews to resume work to repair the water main that broke Thursday evening.
“We thank Richmond’s team for working tirelessly throughout the night to repair the water main and get our system back to normal operations,” said Bentley Chan, director of Department of Public Utilities. “Repair projects of this nature can be extremely challenging, and often the complexities aren’t fully known until work begins. As work resumes tonight, we will continue to coordinate with the city to meet our customers’ needs.”
To help residents limit their use of public water, Henrico will continue to operate drive-thru water distribution sites at Best Plaza, 1400 Best Plaza Drive; and Harvie Elementary School, 3401 Harvie Road. Both sites, which offer one case of bottled water per vehicle, will operate daily from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. until further notice.
While Henrico’s water is safe and pressure should be normal, residents are encouraged to call Public Utilities at 804-501-5025 (weekends/after hours) or 804-727-8700 (weekdays) if they notice any unusual conditions.