RICHMOND Va. — After additional fluoride was added to drinking water at Richmond's water treatment plant, which the city says happened because of an issue during the installation of a new fluoride pump.
"Prior to this event, the fluoride system was offline for repairs. During this period, drinking water produced by the Water Treatment Plant remained safe for consumption," the city said in a news release Monday evening.
The issue happened on Wednesday, April 23, according to the city, but Henrico and Hanover's statements said the counties were not notified until days later. The city noted that plant staff did not notify the Virginia Department of Health within the required 24-hour period.
“I’m disappointed with our failure to communicate. This incident damages the work we’re doing to rebuild trust — not only with the residents of Richmond, but our communities, and our regional partners, including Henrico, Chesterfield, and Hanover. We must do better,” Richmond Mayor Danny Avula said.
The city said drinking water is safe to drink.
"While long-term exposure to elevated levels of fluoride can be unsafe, this incident is considered an acute exposure. See below for language from the EPA for chronic fluoride exposures," a news release said. "When there is a secondary MCL greater than 2.0 mg/L, waterworks are required to provide a special notice to customers. This special notice about the City of Richmond’s drinking water serves to address the potential related to cosmetic dental problems that might affect children under nine years of age. At low levels, fluoride can help prevent cavities, but children drinking water containing more than 2 milligrams per liter (mg/L) of fluoride may develop cosmetic discoloration of their permanent teeth (dental fluorosis). The City of Richmond has tested the fluoride levels within the distribution system and confirmed that the level in the nine pressure zones for the distribution system are between 1.00 mg/L and 2.94 mg/L. The City is actively flushing the pressure zones where the fluoride mg/L is above 2.0.
"Dental fluorosis, in its moderate or severe forms, may result in a brown staining and/or pitting of the permanent teeth. This problem occurs only in developing teeth, before they erupt from the gums. Children under nine should be provided with alternative sources of drinking water or water that has been treated to remove the fluoride to avoid the possibility of staining and pitting of their permanent teeth. You may also want to contact your dentist about proper use by young children of fluoride-containing products. Older children and adults may safely drink the water."
Henrico and Hanover counties have both issued statements after being made aware of the issue.
Per its statement, Henrico County was first notified of the incident by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management at 9:38 p.m. Sunday. Hanover says they were also notified by VDEM around 9:30 p.m.
"According to Richmond’s Department of Public Utilities, a fluoride overflow occurred at the plant. However, the City maintains the overflow did not cause levels of fluoride in the water to exceed acceptable state and federal compliance levels," Hanover's statement reads.
Henrico began its statement by saying the county is "discouraged by the repeated operational failures and communications breakdowns" associated with the plant.
"Henrico and its Department of Public Utilities are working closely with state agencies, the city and other localities to more fully understand what occurred and how water customers throughout the region may have been impacted. The Department of Health will issue a notice about the incident and its implications for public health."
Hanover's statement says the county immediately conducted fluoride level testing and found 1.6 parts per million, which is well below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s maximum allowable limit of 4.0.
"We are disappointed by the lack of timely communication from the City of Richmond, especially in light of the challenges faced during January’s water crisis," Hanover County said. "Hanover County remains committed to working with our regional partners to strengthen oversight of the water supply and to keeping our residents fully informed."
"This episode, which comes on the heels of the city’s water service disruptions of January, shows once again that the region’s localities need to play a more prominent role in the delivery of drinking water to their customers," Henrico County said, concluding with: "Henrico stands ready to partner with the city as well as Chesterfield and Hanover counties to ensure that the entire community has access to drinking water that’s reliable, safe and of the highest quality."
Chesterfield County issued a statement just before 7 p.m., saying it regularly tests water coming from its suppliers and that the water in the county is safe to drink.
"Chesterfield Utilities was made aware late Sunday evening that the City of Richmond Water Treatment Plant had released a higher-than-recommended concentration of fluoride into the distribution system. This prompted Chesterfield to expedite fluoride testing results on the previous week’s sampling. Chesterfield’s comprehensive protocols are to test 180 samples monthly and additional daily weekday samples at the three points of entry from the City of Richmond. The aforementioned test results were below levels set by the EPA for health concerns."
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