Richmond's water crisis was "completely avoidable," Virginia health officials say
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A 10-page report from Virginia health officials to Richmond on Thursday can be summed up with one scathing sentence: "The water crisis should never have happened and was completely avoidable."
Why it matters: It's the first time the Virginia Department of Health has officially said the city's preparation was so insufficient it may have violated state law and regulations.
The big picture: VDH's Office of Drinking Water served Richmond what's known as a "Notice of Alleged Violation," which formally notifies it of potential wrongdoings.
- The notice also gives Richmond a chance to fix the outlined issues without facing penalties, which could be up to $5,000 per day per violation if the city doesn't comply.
- Officials said in a statement ahead of VDH issuing the notice that it'll review and respond to VDH's recommendations "in the coming days."
Among the findings, which include a similar timeline already outlined by officials and other reports:
- Multiple backup power systems didn't work properly or long enough.
- Not enough staff was present to properly respond and the staff available might not have quickly known what they needed to do (such as manually operate the valves when they failed to prevent flooding).
- Richmond didn't tell VDH about how bad the situation was until 2:30 to 3pm, about nine hours after the power went out around 5:50am — and implied it didn't tell residents fast enough, either.
What VDH says Richmond may have violated:
- A Public Water Supplies law that outlines how water systems should operate to ensure safe drinking water.
- Two sections of Virginia Water Regulations regarding the minimum water pressure a water system must always provide and a requirement to maintain a water treatment plant so service isn't disrupted.
What's next: VDH expects to finish the full investigation by April 7. But within 30 days, Richmond has to tell the agency that it's:
- Verified and properly trained staff on the power outage response.
- Tested all emergency backup systems to make sure they work.
- Able to describe how often critical equipment and backup power supplies are tested before storm events.
Go deeper: Richmond hires firms to investigate water crisis and emergency response