Richmond, Va. (Newsradiowrva.com) - Governor Glenn Youngkin said Wednesday that the State Health Department has completed its investigation into the January water crisis in Richmond.
In the newly released report, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) said the Richmond water crisis was "completely avoidable." Investigators said it was caused by maintenance issues, ineffective emergency planning, and faulty components.
“Specifically, the failure at the Richmond plant was not the result of a ‘day of’ disaster, but rather, the result of years’ long neglect,” the VDH said in a letter to Gov. Youngkin and Richmond Mayor Danny Avula, which was attached to the report.
Back-up systems at the facility were not sufficiently prepared for an emergency situation such as a severe weather event, the VDH said.
“The Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) battery back-up systems were not properly maintained and were past their design life,” the VDH said. “DPU allowed situations to exist that increased the risk of a water crisis.”
Youngkin has directed the health department to make sure that the actions needed to ensure this doesn’t happen again are carried out.
“The disruption of a safe and reliable water supply in Richmond this past January never should have happened,” said Youngkin.
The investigation identified that roughly $64 million worth of infrastructure upgrades are needed to address the issues discovered by VDH. Several of the upgrades identified by the firm that carried out the investigation are already included in Richmond’s capital improvement plan.
The VDH said DPU’s management team is changing the organizational structure to improve communication among its staff, specifically maintenance and operations.
“Culture and organizational complacency are being replaced with active management and an emergency preparedness mentality,” the VDH said, adding that it will monitor the city’s compliance with its corrective action plan.
The full report can be viewed here.
