RICHMOND, Va. — Many residents in Central Virginia, including Joe Sokohl and his wife, have been without running water for the past 48 hours following a winter storm that caused a malfunction at the Richmond Water Treatment Plant. Thousands of people are facing difficulties in accessing water for drinking, cooking, bathing and using the restroom.
“We started melting snow to use for things other than drinking. My wife, fortunately, got a case of water donated to her," Sokohl explained. "People in the area have been helping each other in the Museum District, but literally just waiting and waiting.”
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The couple is doing their best to conserve water during this challenging time, which has been especially tough for Sokohl's wife, who is battling cancer.
“My wife has been recovering from major surgery a year and a half ago that has majorly impacted her gastrointestinal [health],” Sokohl said. “And then she had a laparoscopic procedure on Thursday, still recovering from that.”
He expressed concern about the impact of the ongoing water crisis on the health of those who are ill.
“Having spent a lot of time in the past, going on two years in hospitals, and knowing about the different care both with my wife's ovarian cancer, knowing about the importance of sterilization, knowing the importance that the life-giving need for water is, it concerns me,” Sokohl added.
According to a statement from Bon Secours, water services at Richmond Memorial Regional Medical Center are suspended, and all elective surgeries have been postponed. Richmond Community Hospital is currently sourcing a temporary external water solution, while St. Mary’s Hospital is experiencing low water pressure and is conserving water.
The HCA Health System reported that they have arranged for a significant water supply to be sent to Chippenham Hospital, Retreat Doctors' Hospital, and Hanover Emergency. This includes 15 tanker trucks of water, four pumping systems, two generators, at least 70,000 water bottles and 7,000 pounds of ice.
Late Tuesday evening, VCU Health Clinics announced closure due to the ongoing water crisis, which has also affected elective surgeries and testing schedules. A source inside VCU Health stated that the heat in the hospital was impacted, but a representative confirmed that environmental controls were being managed despite a drop in water pressure.
At a Wednesday press conference, the mayor announced that at least a dozen tanker trucks were en route to Richmond, with some heading specifically to hospitals. Sokohl criticized the city's response time, saying, “It doesn't sound like the city coordinated a response immediately to warn medical professionals about this and to begin positioning secondary assets.”
Sokohl is concerned about the potential impact on his wife's scheduled PET scan for Friday. “Is that in jeopardy? Probably because those things that are less critical, less traumatic, need to be deprioritized in a triage sense. Well, this has that ripple effect,” he said.
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