Investigation is underway by the Virginia Department of Health against the City of Richmond for possible violations of state law after a water crisis that had left swaths of Central Virginia dry.
This follows developments from January’s winter storm that knocked out power provided by two Dominion Energy grids to Richmond’s water treatment plant, developing into a boil water advisory in the area.
Now, according to a Notice of Alleged Violation issued Jan. 23, the Department’s Office of Drinking Water (ODW)says the crisis could have been prevented.
Pursuant to state law, water treatment plants are required to have an emergency management plan for extended power outages, including backup sources of power to maintain operations on a smaller scale.
The plant only required manual transfer to its two backup generators to maintain uninterrupted power supply to the facility.
However, power had not been switched to the backup supply, and pumps delivering water into the plant began to flood, submerging critical pumps and electrical equipment causing the plant’s control systems to shut down. “The City of Richmond could have prevented the crisis with better preparation,” the ODW observed in the notice.
“Not enough staff were present at the WTP by ODW’s observations to effectively respond to the power outage… possibly because of a lack of awareness of what needed to happen quickly, ineffective training, or other reasons,” per the ODW report.
Waterworks, such as the one downtown, are required to have standard procedures in the case of extended power outages. The procedures should have included knowing how to manually operate valves to prevent flooding, and switching the plant to its auxiliary supply.
Going forward, the ODW will continue to have access to the facilities throughout the duration of the investigation, and Richmond will have to report back with details including crisis preparation, standard operating procedures, equipment assessments, and the such.
Investigation is expected to end early April with a report that includes a final analysis and conclusions by the ODW in late April. In the meantime, Richmond may request an informal fact-finding proceeding if “it disagrees with the allegations…or wishes to obtain a determination [on violation].”
Politically, no provisions to safeguard against another crisis like this have yet to materialize in Virginia’s General Assembly.
An amendment to Richmond’s charter died in committee within Virginia’s law making body January; the bill would have set the minimum requirements of the Director of Public Utilities to include a degree in engineering or infrastructure management, among other conditions.
However, despite the lack of progress, Avula has expressed optimism in an interview with 8news that the crisis will bring more attention to Richmond’s water, “We’re working with our state legislators to try to bring some more funding, to replace parts that were damaged.” Overall, the notice highlights a significant lapse in Richmond policy that led to what the ODW calls an avoidable crisis that never would have happened if the Richmond facility maintained crisis preparedness ahead of the winter storm.