HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — Henrico County is under a county wide boil water advisory as of Wednesday afternoon.
Residents now have to either boil their water or rely on bottled water until further notice.
Watch: Henrico issues county-wide boil water advisory amid water crisis
The county added an additional water distribution site soon after the announcement.
CBS 6 spoke with teenagers Leo Carpenter and Elliot Smith, who volunteered at the Henrico Sports and Event Center distribution.
“It’s fun passing out the water and it’s a good workout,” they said.
The teens traded in their time during their unexpected extended winter break to volunteer at this centers which opened as a result of the ongoing crisis across the county. Initially, Henrico wasn’t impacted by Richmond’s water plant issues, but that changed when a water pipe burst, causing much of eastern Henrico to lose water Tuesday.
As of Wednesday evening, the county expanded their boil water advisory from the east end to the entire county.
County leaders said they did so out of precaution in following the Virginia Department of Health’s protocol.
Watch: How long Henrico Boil Water Advisory could last, when East End will be at full pressure
That’s because water had stopped moving through a portion of the pipes and they say there's no way to ensure that potentially contaminated water remains isolated in a specific area in the water system.
“Water is a necessity. So yeah, your life is turned upside down without water,” said Tonya Martin.
Martin is one of the 23,000 Henrico residents that the county says still have no water.
She waited in the cold with her peers at the Henrico Recreation Center to fill up buckets of water with the supply provided from the county.
Martin is one of many questioning how a few inches of snow caused this level of crisis.
“Localities were not prepared for this and you can tell. I don’t mind cold but this is a big inconvenience,” she said.
CBS 6 took concerns like Martin's to the county manager during their Wednesday afternoon press conference.
“I think there are always going to be naysayers that go on social media and post at a win because they are anonymous. But what I have seen is the goodness of our region and I hope that continues to transcends to other issues in our region," Vitoulkas said.
The county gave no set time frame for how long the boil water advisory could last.
However, the county is continuing to find ways to make sure water gets to those continuing to experience this crisis.
“If they whole community comes together as a well oiled machine we can get things done,” Smith said.
Henrico residents can now come anytime to the sports and event center to get water and take a shower.
Water is also available at the recreation center and government center.
The county plans to also open a handful of schools in the morning where showers will be accessible.
The county has also setup a 24/7 line you can call if you are unable to access those resources: 804-501-4275.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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