Richmond paid a $6,817 state fine for a water failure regulators called avoidable
In January 2025 Richmond's water treatment plant lost power during a winter storm, leaving about 230,000 city residents, plus parts of Henrico and Hanover counties, under boil-water advisories for nearly a week. A Virginia Department of Health investigation released in April 2025 said the failure resulted from years of neglect, citing operating the plant on a single power feed, poorly maintained backup systems and too few trained staff on site. In June 2025 the city signed a consent order with the State Board of Health listing nine regulatory violations and agreed to a civil charge of $6,817; state law allows up to $25,000 per violation. No discipline of city staff was reported. The city files quarterly progress reports under a corrective action plan; in October 2026 VDH noted several project dates had been pushed back.
The failure at the Richmond plant was not the result of a 'day of' disaster, but rather, the result of years' long neglect.
"The Water Crisis was avoidable, preventable, and should not have happened," reads the consent order.
There's a lot of work ahead of us
The quarterly report provides updates to initial proposed dates for several projects due to items such as design changes.
DPU Director Scott Morris said DPU remains committed to working with VDH and that "the road ahead will be challenging."
Said his team is taking the HNTB and VDH recommendations seriously and that many items are already checked off.
No outcome recorded yet.