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May 28 Newsletter: 'Here we go again'

Weather: A cloudy, rainy and cool start to the day, but the sun may pop through in the afternoon. Read a full forecast from Sean Sublette, including how rare this cool May has been, here.

On this date in 1943, the Richmond School Board approves paid sick leave for teachers for the first time.

For months, Richmond officials have said January's water problem should never happen again. On Tuesday, it happened again. Here's the very latest:

Timeline

Most Richmond residents should have full water pressure as they wake up this morning. Neighborhoods that entered a boil water advisory yesterday remain subject to it. (See interactive map here)

Impacts

As shoppers descended on grocery stores, there was a familiar feel. Local restaurants, still reeling from the last crisis, worked to stay open under trying conditions.

  • Richmond schools will be open today, and graduation festivities will take place as scheduled.
  • City Council, which was scheduled to receive a water briefing last night, instead opted to postpone its meeting for a week.
  • The Richmond Flying Squirrels will play this week as scheduled, with discounted bottled water available.

What happened?

Tuesday morning, as water pressure dropped, the city issued a press release saying there had been overnight disruption to service, but it had been fixed.

  • Then the plant broke again.

Plant officials said extra sediment, or "turbidity," in the James River caused filters at the plant to clog, leading to the drop in pressure.

Mayor Danny Avula, who took office in January, said the city is in a “rebuilding mode.”

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“We’ve brought new leadership in,” he said. “It’s going to take time for all the systems to be working properly.”

Fallout

Tuesday night, DPU Director Scott Morris pledged an after-action investigation, along with the Virginia Department of Health.

Avula said early communication worked as intended, but in a "dynamic situation," things changed rapidly.

The news comes as the mayor prepares to introduce a new CAO next Friday.

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Former Mayor Levar Stoney, who has largely avoided commenting on water issues, was campaigning with actor LeVar Burton on Tuesday as Stoney runs for lieutenant governor.

City officials will update the status of the water recovery at a Wednesday morning press conference.

Read more from Graham Moomaw here.

In other news

The editor's desk

It was a surprise to see City Council cancel its regularly scheduled meeting, as city workers stayed on the job Tuesday afternoon. As we all hunker in for another week of water woes, I heard plenty of frustration, anger and even resignation yesterday. It's been a rough year for city residents.

Michael Phillips, founding editor
mphillips@richmonder.org

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