Former DPU Director April Bingham breaks silence on Richmond water crisis: 'I hold no regrets'

RICHMOND, Va. — For the past two months in the aftermath of the water crisis, there's one person many Richmonders have wanted to hear from — April Bingham, the former director of the Richmond Department of Public Utilities.

She was ultimately terminated after a winter storm knocked the power out at the water treatment plant on January 6, 2025, triggering a series of failures in backup power systems and leaving the city and surrounding counties without drinkable water for nearly a week. Bingham previously served as DPU's deputy director of customer service beginning in February 2020 and was appointed DPU director by former Mayor Levar Stoney in December 2021.

Since her separation from the city, Bingham has not spoken publicly about the crisis, until now.

"It has been eight strong weeks that I've been silent, that I've sat by the wayside, and I've watched, and I've listened, and I've actually experienced and witnessed a lot of misrepresentation of my skills, my abilities, and the events of that day. No longer can I sit beside and just wait for others to continue to write this narrative without me being a part of it," Bingham said.

Bingham sat down for an exclusive interview with CBS 6 reporter Tyler Layne. While she was accompanied by a lawyer, no questions were off limits, and there were no time constraints.

The water plant failure and communications

"Take me back to January 6. When did you realize that there was a problem going on at the water treatment plant? And then walk me through what you did," Layne said.

"I was on vacation from December the 20th until January the third... Leading into the night of the fifth, and early into the morning of the sixth, we had a weather call because we knew that impending weather was coming our way, and so I had not been briefed about anything going on or any concerns at the water plant or the wastewater plant, or any other issues within DPU. It was after that call, that early AM call on the sixth, that I was notified by plant staff, the superintendent, that there was a flood happening at the water plant," Bingham said.

According to a timeline of events, the plant first experienced a minor power disruption at 4:25 a.m., completely lost power at 5:45 a.m., and was flooded by 5:55 a.m.

Bingham said she received a text message from the plant superintendent shortly before 7 a.m. and got to the plant around 8 a.m. By the time she arrived, catastrophic flooding had already filled the basement, which halted water production. The power was out, and computer systems were offline.

She said she called in extra staff including electricians, experts, and engineers.

"When I got to the plant, I found a situation that was chaotic. I found a situation that was fearful. I found staff that was scared of the events that were taking place," Bingham recalled.

“How involved were you in figuring out the solutions? How do we get the power back on? How do we get the flooding out of the basement? How do we get our computer systems back online? Did you have immediate answers to those questions as you were trying to navigate the crisis?” Layne asked.

"There were no immediate answers, right? There was planning, right? So, we needed to understand what we needed and how quickly we needed it and what we needed it for," Bingham said.

"And so when did it click for you that we have public crisis on our hands that we need to get ahead of?" Layne asked.

"The plant superintendent asked to speak directly with myself and the deputy director, and he said, we need to consider a boil water advisory at 10 a.m. Immediately thereafter, I contacted my boss to make sure that that information was passed forward. So, I knew at 10 a.m. that we needed to move forward with next steps in planning for the region," Bingham said.

Bingham said her boss was Interim Chief Administrative Officer Sabrina Joy-Hogg, the top manager of all city operations.

"You have been criticized for a lack of communication. The counties have said that. The state has said that. They said by the time that they were aware of the severity of the crisis, they did not have time to properly respond and prepare. Do you feel like you dropped the ball on communication?" Layne asked.

"Absolutely not," Bingham responded. "My job in crisis management was to feed information back to the main library so that they could then share with the public, and that's what I did. I could not bring in resources, manage staff, take care of contractors, and feed the public."

The main library is where the city established an emergency operations center and was managing public communications. Bingham said it should've been Joy-Hogg's responsibility to communicate information about the status of the water operations to her counterparts in the surrounding counties that rely on Richmond's water plant for service.

"Why was that information not shared at that level? It could not have come out of the plant. There was too much happening at the plant," Bingham said.

When asked for a response to Bingham's assertion that Joy-Hogg was responsible for communication, city spokesperson Julian Walker said, "many members of City leadership and staff were in regular contact with counterparts in other localities as well as state agencies, contractors, vendors, and other subject matter experts as part of response and recovery activities."

Walker added that the city has engaged external consultants to assess its emergency communications during the crisis response in an effort to improve them in the future.

Bingham said she also started a group chat with DPU directors in Henrico, Hanover, and Chesterfield Counties to send updates about the status of the plant. However, she was texting the Henrico director's landline instead of his cell phone, so he did not receive Bingham's messages.

"I apologize, but again, think about the chaos that we were under. It was a lot going on, and so I do not use that as a measuring stick of how I've been able to communicate with the directors on other occasions. That was a chaotic moment. There was a lot going on. There was information and activities going in and out. You could not imagine again unless you were there," Bingham said.

"You wouldn't change anything about how you handled communication?" Layne asked.

"No, I would not," Bingham answered.

WATCH: Former DPU director recalls ‘chaotic’ and ‘fearful’ situation at Richmond water plant

The after-action investigations: 'I hold no regrets'

Bingham said she reviewed the city's after-action reports detailing what led up to the water crisis, which were completed by external engineering consultants with the firm HNTB.

Investigators found DPU was unprepared and lacked training, standard operating procedures, and emergency planning that could've helped staff respond to the crisis. Employees reported there were no discussions prior to the snowstorm about weather preparations or how to prepare for a possible power loss.

"It sounds like we were not prepared going into the winter storm, and we should have been. And so again, if I'm on vacation and someone is preparing the plant for a winter storm, that is not my job. My job is to ensure that you're doing your job. I'm coming back off a vacation. I should have been briefed on all of that, and I was not," Bingham said.

“It was not your job to make sure that the plant was appropriately prepared for a winter storm?” Layne asked.

“There are two levels of management under me. I should have been briefed about the plant status, and I was not," Bingham said.

Bingham said staffing plans and ensuring standby equipment was connected and in place were not part of her responsibilities.

"As director, wouldn't you have an oversight capacity to check in with your deputy directors and your plant superintendent and say, 'Show me your plan. Let me make sure that this is sufficient'?" Layne asked.

"That's a very valid question, and I will say that, coming off a vacation from December the 20th until January the third, I did not check in with anyone to say, 'let me see your plan,'" Bingham said.

"Do you think you should have checked in?" Layne asked.

"Well, in hindsight, maybe that's something that I would probably say could have happened. I won't run from that, but at the same token, I am not going to shy away from the individuals that are responsible for doing their job," Bingham said.

"Do you feel like by putting the blame on that leadership team, you know they report up to you, you don't think that the buck stops at you?" Layne asked.

"Obviously the city felt that, because I'm no longer employed with the city. That's what the city would say. And I'm not blaming anybody. Tyler, let me say this, if I were still with the city, I probably would not have let anybody go, because I recognize and realize that staff needed training. A lot of the organizational changes that I see happening today, they were already in process," Bingham said.

To that point, Bingham cited concerns with lower management that had more direct oversight of the plant such as plant managers and a deputy director.

"I recognize that we have put people in positions that are greater than their skill sets," Bingham said.

"Did you put any of those people in those positions?" Layne asked.

"Absolutely not. I inherited all of it," Bingham said.

“Is that something you ever considered before January 6th, is we might need to put other people in these positions?” Layne asked.

“That's the conversation that myself and the deputy director were having. We had already created job descriptions and outline tasks of what we wanted those extra positions to look like," Bingham said. "Someone who could have done some of the things that I observed that day, who could have invoked training, who could have immediately been more involved in resurrecting manuals, who could have been more of a communicator, those types of things.”

"If these issues were known to you, wouldn't that say to you, 'I need to make sure that our plant can handle a disaster on January 6, because we are under a state of emergency, and I already know that we have problems with the management of this facility?'" Layne asked.

"Let me say this, Tyler. When I took the role in December of 2021 there were a lot of fires to put out, right? And the plant at that time was not a fire. Customer service was a fire. Natural gas was a fire. Storm water was a fire. The combined sewer overflow was a fire. Lead service line was a fire," Bingham said. "And on January 6, it is unfortunate that I was not aware of all of the coils that were bad, or the bus tie or other things that have come out of the HNTB report, but I'm telling you the truth. In this role, there are so many variables to consider and to address, and these things are not the sole responsibility of April Bingham."

"When you take a look at all the findings that have been presented so far, is there anything that you can look at within these reports and say, 'You know, as the director, I'm going to take accountability for that'?" Layne asked.

"I stand firm. So, as I entered this role as an accomplished professional, I took this role knowing that there would be challenges. I took this role knowing that every day would not be a good day. I took this role knowing that I would have to build relationships and bring in resources needed to be able to accomplish the goals and the missions, and where there were no goals and missions, I had to create some and so I'm not going to hang my head low on anything that I've not done, because what I did do, it needed to be done at that time. One could say that I ran out of time because there was so much that needed to be done," Bingham said.

"Going back to the question, your answer would be no?" Layne asked.

"No. I think I have served the City of Richmond, especially the Department of Public Utilities, wholeheartedly," Bingham said. "I hold my head high, knowing that I did the best that I could at the time that I had available to me, and I hold no regrets."

When asked if she felt the water crisis could have been prevented, she said, "I think parts of it could have been prevented, but I don't know if a total prevention would have transpired. But I do believe that it would not have been as grave if some of the things that were in the plant's control were taken care of."

WATCH: City of Richmond releases preliminary after-action report on water crisis

Bingham: 'No one reached out to me' regarding after-action reports

Bingham maintained that she was not asked to have her perspective included in HNTB's after-action reports. A preliminary report was released on February 13, and a more comprehensive draft report was released on March 3. Bingham was not listed as an interview subject on either document.

The March 3 report includes a statement that says, "HNTB requested to interview former DPU Director April Bingham, but she declined to be interviewed."

"Can you confirm who reached out to you? What did they ask?” Layne asked.

“No one reached out to me. HNTB did their interviews on site January 27 through January 29. That's inside of their file. That's inside of their report. The report also says that they reached out to me after they completed the site visit. According to the City of Richmond, they said that someone reached out to me on February 17 and February the 18th. Why was I not contacted on January 27 to be a part of the 27th through the 29th? Why was I not involved in the second report that was put out on March the third? No one has contacted me” Bingham said.

"No one at all?" Layne asked.

"Let me finish this. You cannot use a call that I placed to someone in the city and use that, or define that, or revise that to say that that call was meant to be the call that they needed to talk to me about HNTB. You can't do that," Bingham said.

“So you reached out to the city first is what you’re saying?” Layne asked.

“I made a phone call to someone in the city. I did. I placed the call," Bingham said.

She said that call went to Rhonda Johnson, the public information officer for DPU.

“So during that conversation with Rhonda Johnson, did she ever ask you, ‘Will you do an interview for this report?’” Layne asked.

“Rhonda Johnson asked a specific question at the end of our call, which I placed to her. She said, ‘[The Virginia Department of Health] is willing to speak with you. Will you speak to them?’ And I said, ‘Absolutely not. I'm not speaking to VDH,'" Bingham said. “Why would I want to talk to VDH when HNTB is doing the report?”

The Virginia Department of Health (VDH), the state agency that regulates the city's drinking water system, engaged engineering consultants to conduct a separate investigation into the water crisis.

“Well, I know VDH has their own investigation going on too," Layne said.

“We’re talking about HNTB. It’s in HNTB’s report," Bingham said.

“Did you want to be involved in this investigation?” Layne asked.

“I’ve never been unwilling," Bingham said. "I've been trying to be the ultimate professional through this. I've kept quiet. I've allowed the city to do what they feel they needed to do. I have not interfered in their investigation. No one asked me to participate in it."

When asked for a response, city spokesperson Julian Walker said "the City previously contacted Ms. Bingham to ask if she would participate in inquiries by the Virginia Department of Health and HNTB" but Bingham "indicated she did not wish to participate."

Walker added the city has since provided Bingham with the contact information for investigators with VDH and HNTB.

In late February, Bingham sent city councilmembers an email saying she no longer wanted to speak with HNTB because she was "not confident" her words would be "used in a favorable fashion."

WATCH: New documents reveal different timeline for start of Richmond Water Crisis

Bingham's resignation: 'Coercion is not amicable'

On January 15, nine days after the water crisis began, Mayor Danny Avula announced Bingham "decided to step down" and that it was an "amicable separation."

"Is that how you would characterize it?" Layne asked Bingham.

“Coercion is not amicable," she responded.

Bingham said she was "coerced" to resign by Interim Chief Administrative Officer Sabrina Joy-Hogg.

On that day, Bingham said she was in a meeting trying to figure out how she could secure reimbursement funding for the plant from the state. Then, she recalled getting a notification from Joy-Hogg asking Bingham to come to her office.

"I went down to City Hall at 10 o'clock. I was presented with a document, told I needed to sign that day. I was asked for my badge, my cell phone, my keys, and that was it," Bingham said.

"There was no other discussion leading up to that?" Layne asked.

"That is correct. I was told it doesn't look good," Bingham said. "I was hurt, and the exact words I said to Ms. Hogg that day was, 'Why am I losing my job when those that didn't do their job still have their job?'"

When asked who didn't do their jobs, Bingham said she did not want to "name names" but said, "You have individuals at the plant that really didn't prepare for this. Everything can't fall on April Bingham, and there's no way you can make me believe that. No one can make me believe that... It's been two months, and it's been unfair, and the narrative, the only thing I can think of is that you did not include me in the HNTB reports or investigation or activities, because maybe what I had to say would challenge the narrative that you've already written.”

She concluded, "You needed a scapegoat, and April Bingham was it."

“I know that, of course, you come from more of a customer service expertise, whereas the other regional DPU leaders come from an engineering background. Do you feel like not being a licensed engineer made you unqualified for the job?” Layne asked.

“Absolutely not. I went through a competitive process for this role. At the time that I applied for this role, DPU needed a leader, and the job description said engineer or public administration. No one did me any favors. I competed for a role. I was qualified for the role, and I was promoted into the role," Bingham said.

While Mayor Avula previously said there were "conversations" about needing a different skillset to lead DPU, Bingham said none of those conversations happened with her.

"Mayor Avula has never sat me down and said, 'We need something different at the top of DPU,'" Bingham said.

When appointing new DPU Director Scott Morris, Avula said it was a "priority" that an engineer take over that position.

Bingham said she was given a 21-day window to think over her decision to resign. She rescinded her resignation on January 22, and the following day on January 23, Bingham was fired.

“So you allowed me to work nine days to get the plant back up and running, and then you bring me into your office, and you terminate me. You tell me how that's not right. You tell me how that's not transparent. You want to be transparent with the public, but you're not transparent with me," Bingham said.

Asked for a response to Bingham's description of her separation, city spokesperson Julian Walker confirmed she resigned on January 15 and was terminated January 23. He said he could not comment further, citing a personnel matter.

When asked if she was pursuing legal action against the city, Bingham declined to comment.

Bingham 'never invited' to city press conferences

During the first week of the water crisis, Mayor Avula held consistent press conferences to give updates about water service restoration. Reporters asked multiple times to speak with Bingham, but she was not in attendance at most of them, except for two briefings that occurred in the earlier part of the week.

Bingham said that wasn't her choice.

"[The mayor] was at the microphone, giving out words, giving out speeches, giving out press updates. That should have been me. I was never invited," Bingham said. "I did not know when the press conferences were taking place, and I watched them afterwards, because I learned that they had happened, and that's how I got my information.”

An after-action report commissioned by Henrico County found the city gave "false hopes" about how quickly water service would be restored and oversold the progress actually being made at the plant, and some residents said by the time the city actually issued a boil water advisory on January 6, there was no water to boil anyway.

Bingham felt the public updates the mayor gave were "performative" and said the information he conveyed in press briefings did not come directly from her.

“The information that I said to the mayor and Sabrina Joy-Hogg, on more than one occasion, was we need to tell the public what they need to hear, not what they want to hear. And what I mean by that is we need to clearly say, we will issue a boil water alert. Don't skirt around it, don't delay it, don't dress it up. We will issue a boil water alert. We need to tell the public this is the status of the plant," Bingham said.

She added that she suggested the city bring in a crisis management expert, but that never happened.

“Everything that I recommended or that I thought would be valuable in this moment was cast aside. So the information that came out of the main library, if April Bingham was not at the main library, then those were their own versions of communication. They were not sanctioned by me," Bingham said.

When asked about Bingham not being invited to press conferences, city spokesperson Julian Walker said, "During the response and recovery effort, staff across agencies and functional areas were deployed in a manner where their skills and experience could be leveraged most effectively in service of the primary mission at that time: restoring water service."

WATCH: What past inspections reveal about Richmond's water plant

The 2022 EPA report

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) completed an inspection of Richmond's drinking water system in July 2022, which highlighted concerns about outdated emergency plans, a lack of emergency training, preventative maintenance issues, and plant equipment that was deteriorating.

But it took DPU more than two years to respond to the inspection.

"Did you know that that inspection took place in 2022?" Layne asked.

“I did not," Bingham said. "That inspection report has a sign-in sheet, and that sign-in sheet indicates who was at that that meeting. If I had known that that level of engagement would be there, I would have been there. I was not there.”

According to the inspection report, the water treatment plant superintendent was listed as the EPA's system representative for DPU.

“Did he tell you the EPA is coming for an inspection on this day?” Layne asked.

“I do not recall that. No, because I would have been there, because that was big enough to be there," Bingham said.

The EPA said written findings were transmitted to the city in October 2022, but Bingham said she never received them. It wasn't until the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) followed up with her in October 2024 that she became aware.

“I got the report on October the 11th, 2024 and the headline said, ‘July 2022.’ I said, ‘They must mean July 2024. This must be a typo. They can't certainly be asking me for something from two years ago,'" Bingham said. "I called a greater meeting with the plant superintendent and some of those that were in that meeting, because I wanted to know what was going on. I should have been briefed on that. I should have been involved in that. I should not have received a report, a request from two years later, asking me for an update, and to know that the staff never gave VDH an update or gave EPA an update, that is unacceptable, and that's why I knew that staff changes were needed."

Bingham said the plant superintendent and the deputy director of the water treatment plant at the time "failed to report and communicate upward.”

“Did you take any type of action against your staff to hold them accountable for that?” Layne asked.

“I took immediate action. That's not something to play with. It's not something I sat on. I wanted for the record to show that when I got it, I acted. And so the deputy director [and I] had already come up with a job description. We were planning to make some staffing changes, and that was the plan. So at that point, we got sideswiped because we needed to get the response out of the door for EPA, but those changes still probably need to be made. That shouldn't be on pause," Bingham said.

Bingham sent a response to the EPA on January 3, 2025, with recommended corrections, which included updating emergency plans and standard operating procedures. She said she felt her recommendations mirrored some of the recommendations that came out of the HNTB reports.

"The things that were already in place, they were just magnified on January 6 by either not being complete or being in some phase of completion. That's what I feel," Bingham said.

"Do you feel, though, that you should take accountability for the fact that those things weren't complete?" Layne asked.

"I think as the director, it is my responsibility to guide and lead the department. I also have to hold people accountable for the roles they play in that process. I can't be everywhere," Bingham said.

When asked for a response to how Bingham described the EPA process, city spokesperson Julian Walker said in part that new DPU Director Scott Morris "updated protocols including engagement and communication with state and federal regulatory agencies." Walker did not directly comment on whether plant leadership notified Bingham of the inspection and findings, citing a personnel matter.

Infrastructure challenges predating Bingham's appointment

Other records detailing plant equipment that was in need of replacement years ago include a 2012 study showing electrical equipment that was "obsolete" and unreliable, 2016 solicitations for projects to upgrade those electrical components including the switchgear that failed on January 6 and triggered the water crisis, and a 2020 conditions assessment from the firm WRA which identified more than 90 electrical assets at high risk of failure.

They all predated Bingham's appointment in late 2021.

“From years of deferred maintenance, or years of decisions that I was not a part of, I can't answer to all of that," Bingham said.

"How much awareness did you have about the very significant infrastructure challenges and faulty electrical equipment when you took over?" Layne asked.

"[Contractors] would communicate with the engineers. That's their role. I'm not saying that the director would not have information about the status of assets, but their counterparts would be the engineers," Bingham said.

“Do you have any insight as to why that switchgear component that was identified as needing replacement over a decade ago, why that procurement was never fulfilled?” Layne asked.

“I can't answer that, Tyler, I really can't. I've been reading through the HNTB reports, trying to figure that out. I've learned more about a switchgear than I care to know through this process, but engineers will be able to help you with that," Bingham said.

“So you were relying on the engineers to push those projects forward and making sure that replacements were being done?” Layne asked.

“Engineers are responsible for working with plant operations and plant maintenance to ensure that assets are replaced, repaired," Bingham said. "So for WRA, if they did a condition assessment, and they're working with our engineers, someone should have been on top of 'This is a critical failure. This is a critical component. This is a this is a critical priority.'"

“And you didn’t have any idea that those critical components needed to be replaced?” Layne asked.

“Not to that gravity. No I did not," Bingham said.

Bingham said she did receive capital investment plan updates from DPU engineers at least bi-weekly but said they were more high-level rather than technical.

"I was able to see the process. I see the spreadsheet, I can tell you which firm has this project, which firm has that one. So I'm very familiar with it. And then there's a weekly report that comes out of procurement that lets me know which documents are up for renewal, which contracts are getting ready to expire, so information was always at my fingertips, but was I the one actually performing the work? Absolutely not," Bingham said.

Bingham said funding was never an issue and city council met all the department's budget requests during her time.

"The money was there. The City Council, in my three years, they've never denied a rate increase, never, and I'm appreciative for city council's work," Bingham said. "It's what do you do to make sure those projects are moving along? And I think Dr. Morris has already said too that they're going to have to go back in and look at reprioritizing some of the priorities, because your [capital investment plan], they're layers to this thing, right? You're just not going to fix it tomorrow."

She believes questions about delayed infrastructure projects should be explored in HNTB's after-action investigation, but she said the firm did not interview any DPU engineers for its first two reports, according to the interview subjects listed on the reports.

When asked about engineers' responsibilities as they relate to infrastructure projects, city spokesperson Julian Walker did not directly comment on that but said, "Since coming on board, the current DPU Director has taken steps and implemented new processes to reinforce water treatment plant operations and add resilience to primary and secondary system power sources."

'Reflect on the days when you did have water'

“Do you feel like you failed the City of Richmond in any way?” Layne asked.

“I did not fail the City of Richmond. What happened on January 6 was an unforeseen and it was an unfortunate incident or event. I even say crisis, because I'm not going to discredit it. Water is life, and for people not to have it is unfortunate. I feel strongly about that. What I would say to the public is to reflect on the days when you did have water, to reflect on the time when things were working right," Bingham said. "To be able to get that plant back up and running within 48 hours, because really, we had water on Wednesday, you just had to boil it. We had water within 48 hours, but you had to boil it so there was an inconvenience. And I don't want people to feel that the word inconvenience takes away anything that they felt, because I, too, had no service. And it was an inconvenience for me, but it reminded me just how important, how critically important this service is, and so I say to the people of Richmond, stay curious. Stay informed, stay in tune and continue to ask questions, because even after April Bingham is off the scene and someone else is in the chair, infrastructure is still growing old every day."

“Looking at your performance as a whole and your management of all the utilities. How would you rate your leadership of DPU?” Layne asked.

“Well, I don't want to give myself 100% because that's pressure, but I will say Tyler, in all honesty, my leadership has impacted DPU in a good way," Bingham said. "My time at DPU really needs to be broad across all utilities, and it needs to include bringing a new billing system to the City of Richmond... Being able to cut the [combined sewer overflow] funding request from the state by half. That bill was $1.3 billion with a 'B' dollars, and working with our engineers, we got that down to $575 million. That's less money that the residents have to pay. That needs to be celebrated. That was my leadership. The fact that we got money from the state and won awards on our lead service line replacement program, that needs to be celebrated. That's my legacy. Not January 6."

She added, "I'm not finished with public service, and I'm not going to allow this particular crisis to define me, but I'm going to let it develop me. I look forward to moving on. I look forward to another city that will embrace my knowledge, skills and abilities and my passion for safe and reliable service."

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