Water flows again into Richmond's Byrd Park Reservoir

State of play: Work began in 2023 to modernize the Byrd Park Reservoir, which supplies water for most of the city and much of the surrounding counties, as Richmonders learned last year.

• With the west basin offline, the reservoir been running at half-capacity since the city started its yearslong rehab and re-roofing project there.
• That basin is one of two water storage tanks at the 150-year-old facility, each holding about about 27.5 million gallons, per the city.

Zoom in: The Byrd Park Reservoir is crucial for the city.

• At full capacity, the reservoir holds 75% of "the entire City of Richmond distribution system," per the Virginia Department of Health's investigation into the city's 2025 water crisis.
• The water crisis, which stemmed from a brief power outage at the city's main water treatment facility, left most of the city without running water for days.
• Had the reservoir been at full capacity, Richmonders could have had 13–14 additional hours of running water before the tanks ran dry, per the report.

The half-capacity facility was also a factor in a separate water issue in May, which once again put the city under a boil water advisory, as Axios reported.

What's next: It will take several days for the Byrd Park Reservoir west basin to fill, the city said.

Once it's full, the city will start work on the east tank, which should take about two years, The Richmonder reports.