HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — Residents in Henrico County are celebrating after a boil water advisory was lifted Saturday after Richmond's 100-year-old water treatment plant went offline during a winter storm early Monday.
"It was a humbling experience, but I am so excited," Henrico resident Sharonda Branch said about the end of a days-long water crisis. "Praise God we made it through."
The news came at 11:30 a.m. that the boil order for the City of Richmond and Hanover, Henrico and Goochland counties was liftedafter multiple tests confirmed that the water was safe to drink.
"I too am very thankful and very relieved to be able to say that we have reached the end of the tunnel," Henrico Board of Supervisor Chair Tyrone Nelson said.
The county worked to meet the community's needs during the crisis, distributing more than 140,000 cases of water and serving 120 gallons of water from tanker trucks. Additionally, more than 1,000 people received water delivered to their homes.
"You have looked out for each other," Nelson said. "You gained strength from each other and we came through this together."
WATCH: Henrico Water Crisis news briefing for Saturday, Jan. 11
In the wake of the crisis, Henrico County plans to bring in an independent third party to conduct an after-action report.
"As a county, we must do better and we will do better," Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas said.
The reports will assess whether current policies were followed, analyze infrastructure and suggest improvements for the future.
WATCH: Henrico leader encourages citizens to keep asking questions amid Richmond Water Crisis
During a news conference on Saturday, it was revealed that Henrico’s Department of Public Utilities (DPU) did not visit Richmond's water plant ahead of the season's first snowstorm. Henrico shares some water resources with Richmond under a landmark agreement that dates back 40 years.
When asked if staff had checked on the water plant, Bentley Chan, DPU's director, explained, "Henrico has telemetry from the city's system, and that's how we monitor what's going on. And that's how we had at least a little bit of foreknowledge that something was amiss at their plant."
Chan clarified that the county's staff does not operate directly at Richmond's facility. But looking ahead, the DPU is open to changes in its approach.
"Absolutely," Chan said. "We are more than happy to send staff out to assist" in times of emergency.
As the county evaluates the lessons learned from the water crisis, residents are sharing their own takeaways.
"Be prepared because you never know what may happen," one man said.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
📲: CONNECT WITH US
Blue Sky| Facebook| Instagram| X| Threads| TikTok| YouTube
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
