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# At regional water meeting, VDH lauds ‘extraordinary’ improvements at Richmond facility
- URL: https://www.richmonder.org/at-regional-water-meeting-vdh-lauds-extraordinary-improvements-at-richmond-facility/
- Published: 2026-10-04T16:47:43.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-04T16:47:43.000Z
- Description: The city is already moving on the filter improvement project, with a contractor in place and the goal of finishing next year.
- Author: Michael Phillips
- Tags: Local News, #the-bridge

The latest Richmond Regional Water Workgroup was full of good feelings, as officials from the Virginia Department of Health congratulated the city’s Department of Public Utilities on progress made since the Jan. 2025 water crisis.

“From the VDH perspective, we believe the city has taken all of the necessary actions to prevent (another water crisis),” said Dwayne Roadcap, who directs the Office of Drinking Water. “The key to making sure it all works and is sustainable is with leadership and culture, and that’s where we’ve seen a striking difference between what we saw before the water crisis and after.”

The workgroup was mandated by state law to determine the best way to use state funding intended to improve operations at Richmond’s water treatment plant, and ensure regional input into those decisions.

At the previous meeting, the group authorized the use of $32.8 million in state money to overhaul the water plant’s filters. During that meeting, officials from Henrico County wanted assurances that the money would not just replace the city’s intended investments into the plant.

Last Tuesday, Roadcap shared a memo VDH wrote after looking into the matter.

“We are confident there was no supplanting of (local) funds,” he said in summary. The document noted that the city’s budget had always planned on using state money for the repairs.

Richmond officials shared that the state money is unlikely to be enough to fully cover the repairs, and it is likely the additional needed funds will have to be recovered from customers in the form of higher water bills in future years.

The city is already moving on the filter improvement project, with a contractor in place and the goal of finishing next year.

Richmond’s DPU and VDH jointly presented an update on corrective actions being taken at the plant, noting that 219 of the 233 needed corrections have been completed to VDH’s satisfaction, with a plan in place for the other 14 as funds become available.

A facilitator asked for feedback or objections, but none were presented by the neighboring counties. Roadcap told DPU Director Scott Morris that he was impressed with the progress.

“A lot of the concerns we had at the Virginia Department of Health have been resolved by a change in culture, a strong leadership team and a mindset where people are moving to a preventative maintenance mindset rather than a reactive mindset,” Roadcap said. “There’s been a lot of change that’s been positive in a short amount of time. It’s truly been extraordinary.”

The remainder of the meeting was largely focused on logistics. The group must finish a state-mandated report on its work by the end of October, and scheduling the various officials has proved challenging.

At the next regularly scheduled meeting, the group will vote to change its bylaws to allow virtual meetings going forward.

The workgroup will continue to meet for at least another year, something Morris made light of as the meeting wrapped up.

“It’s a long way to go,” he said. “So stay hydrated.”

*Contact Michael Phillips at* [*mphillips@richmonder.org*](mailto:mphillips@richmonder.org)*.*