Richmond released the second of its two planned water crisis reports on Wednesday, this one detailing how the city communicated during the week in January when the plant was knocked offline by a winter storm.

The 84-page report offers a timeline of events, as well as insights into internal and external communication and recommendations for the city moving forward. It was prepared by Hagerty Consulting, which gave an estimated price of $400,000. It did not focus on the plant's operation, which was the focus of an earlier report.

“The Incident Response Assessment is a vital step in understanding our response to the Winter Storm and Water Crisis,” Stephen Willoughby, Director of the Department of Emergency Communications, Preparedness and Response, said in a statement. “This assessment examines the City’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) response, identifying key strengths and areas for improvement around communications, coordination, and resource management.” 

Room for improvement

The report notes that use of the city's alert management system "was unclear," and some city residents instead heard about the crisis through "informal channels."

When an emergency operations center was established, there was initially confusion over access, with security personnel telling the report's authors that "they were told to let anyone in, regardless of if they have credentials."

The report also noted, regarding a 311 call center to update residents, that "the City did not initially understand the complexity and impact of the incident and thought the call center would be open for a shorter time period than what was ultimately needed."

Strengths

It complimented city workers and others who worked long hours throughout the week.

"Many stakeholders noted that a culture of stepping up without hesitation was evident," the report said. City agencies "effectively pivoted to support water distribution while maintaining core services."

City staff were also complimentary of Mayor Danny Avula and his staff, who "managed the incident well despite their recent appointment."

The report is aimed at providing internal direction, and is not intended for the general public broadly. It resists drawing too many specific conclusions about the crisis.

One summary from the report said: "Planning played a crucial role in the City’s response, as pre-disaster and in-the-moment planning led to quick and effective mobilization of resources and staff wellness efforts. However, gaps in planning led to disorganization in resource requests and coordination, an unclear command structure, confusion over roles and responsibilities, and inconsistent documentation practices during the incident."

Contact Michael Phillips at mphillips@richmonder.org.