Richmond water outage forces city schools to close until Monday
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Richmond Public Schools is closing until Monday due to the city's ongoing water outage, Superintendent Jason Kamras announced Wednesday afternoon.
Why it matters: RPS students haven't returned to school since winter break started over two weeks ago because of snow and the lack of running water.
The big picture: Kamras said in his daily newsletter that while there's been progress in restoring water, pressure isn't back yet.
- Without pressure, the Virginia Department of Health can't double-test the water for bacteria.
- And without VDH giving the go-ahead, RPS can't test "all of our boilers and plumbing, and fix anything that might need to be fixed," wrote Kamras, who added the process is time-consuming.
Plus, 10 of RPS' buildings rely on boilers for heat, which means there's no heat in those either.
What they're saying: "It pains me to close schools. I try to do everything I can to keep our doors open," Kamras said.
- "But I also believe strongly, and have made a commitment to you, to do everything that is humanly possible to keep our students and staff safe," he continued.
The parent's side: "It's like 2020 all over again! We're working full-time, there's no childcare, and all we're getting from our municipal authorities as to when this will all be over is a vague, slightly embarrassed shrug. Good times," said reader Mike N.
- "Sorry, I can't hear you over the sounds of the three kids screaming and bouncing off of the walls," joked reader Boz B.
- "I'm bored..." added John S.
What's next: RPS is working on food distribution plans for the rest of the week and will announce them soon.
Go deeper:
- Water is trickling back in Richmond, boil advisory still in effect as is one for Henrico and parts of Hanover
- Richmond's best memes and jokes from the city water crisis