RICHMOND, Va. —Ever since a significant failure at Richmond's water treatment plant left the city and surrounding localities without drinkable water for nearly a week, the facility has been more robustly staffed around the clock, according to the city leaders.
Some city employees worked 17 days in a row since the January 6 emergency, and other employees worked 21 consecutive days without a day off, according to Dwayne Johnson with the local Teamsters union.
WATCH: Richmond only had 3 operators at water plant at time of outage, likely didn't test backup systems
The Department of Public Utilities (DPU) has been bringing in workers from its wastewater plant to help out at the treatment facility for the time being. External experts, contractors, and state and federal regulatory staff have also been on site to ensure operations at the plant continue without disruption, per city officials.
According to interim city spokesperson Julian Walker, the current staffing plan has been in emergency mode as of recent and will soon transition back to normal operations "in the days ahead." When that happens, he said employees will return to a normal schedule.
"It is important to remember that intense winter weather conditions, which contributed to the water service interruption earlier this month, have remained in the forecast for much of January when the City has experienced additional snow and precipitation as well as frigid temperatures. The presence of this weather necessitated continued supplemental staffing operations at the plant as DPU teams pursued recovery efforts," Walker said.
As of Friday, Johnson said some employees were given their first day off since even before the crisis happened, and he said he was thankful that Mayor Danny Avula listened to and was responsive to the concerns of the workers.
The water crisis has raised questions about staffing levels at the plant and whether DPU's previous staffing plans were sufficient.
WATCH: Health department cites Richmond with alleged violations for failing to prevent water crisis
In a notice of alleged violation issued by the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), the agency said the city failed to prevent what was a "completely avoidable" crisis in part because there were not enough staff on site to respond to a Dominion Energy power outage that was caused by an expected winter storm.
After the power outage occurred, a switchgear failed to transfer power to a secondary Dominion Energy source. Multiple redundant, backup, and fail-safe power systems also failed, triggering catastrophic flooding at the plant that damaged critical equipment and halted water production.
WATCH: Video offers shocking glimpse into flooded Richmond Water Treatment Plant
VDH said at the time of impact, DPU staffed three plant operators on site, who may not have been trained to adequately handle the power outage, and did not ensure that any other electricians, maintenance specialists, or instrumentation specialists were on site.
Walker did not answer CBS 6's question about how many vacancies of water treatment plant staff exist within DPU.
Richmond City Councilmembers also have asked the mayor's administration for information about vacancy rates in a list of questions submitted to the administration last Friday. Those questions have not yet been answered either.
Johnson said he was aware of vacant positions at the plant, but he did not know the exact number.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
📲: CONNECT WITH US
Blue Sky| Facebook| Instagram| X| Threads| TikTok| YouTube
