Olivier Faye, a city worker managing water distribution with 12 volunteers in Southside Richmond, was staying positive in the face of the city’s ongoing water outage.
“We’ve been here since 9 o’clock and we’re still rocking," Fay told Radio IQ Wednesday afternoon. "No trouble thus far. Feeling great, actually. It’s for the community, we love it.”
Faye said plenty of families came and got water without issue.
About 20 minutes earlier, three miles west at Virginia State Police Headquarters, Governor Glenn Youngkin held his first press conference since he was first alerted to the issue Monday afternoon.
Youngkin said he first worked to get water to hospitals, 10 tankers worth as of Wednesday afternoon. And 1,300 pallets of water have since moved through the city’s 11 distribution sites.
“People are angry and frustrated and they’re tired," Youngkin said. "And I think everybody who’s been working to try and restore full water service and make sure people have the supplies they need understands this.”
The governor also addressed the delayed activation of the National Guard. While they were on alert thanks to an emergency declaration made ahead of last week's storm, he said early reports led him to believe the problem wasn't as bad as it was.
"This situation has lasted a lot longer than people were originally informed," he told the press, noting the Guard has since been activated. "They started moving water last night, this morning and through the course of today."
Youngkin said 72 school districts were impacted by weather or water issues.
Early Wednesday morning at Richmond's Main Library, Mayor Danny Avula was on his sixth day on the job. He signaled water may start flowing by Thursday evening but likely wouldn’t be drinkable before Friday.
“I really need folks to band together, and to think about how we’re supporting each other, conserve, boil water, right?" He said. "This is a really challenging time, people are really losing patience. But just have grace for each other.”
He said the city's reservoir was still low, about 7 ft in height. Usually it's closer to 18 ft, and water flow wouldn't return to a version of normal until it was over 10 feet. He asked residents to use water sparingly and avoid washing clothes or dishes if possible. He added city employees and contractors were working around the clock in 12 hour shifts to fix remaining issue.
The boil water advisory will stay in place until two health tests are conducted with 16 hours in between. Those tests can't begin until the system reaches full pressure.
Avula also said the water Richmonders may see coming from their faucets Thursday could be discolored or have particles in it. He said not to worry, it was part of a flush of the system. The same goes for fire hydrants that locals have seen spewing water into the street.
"That’s to get air and sediment out of the system and it helps avoids water main breaks when the water is turned back on,” he said.
Both elected officials also addressed questions about legislative asks to fix the problem, but both said it was too early for any concrete requests.
"We've been focused on recovery; the next phase is to do the deeper assessment to find out where we need broader investment," Avula said, promising a post-crisis report that would help inform next steps.
Youngkin said he's got funding for water systems across the Commonwealth in his latest budget. As for Richmond's needs, he said that report from the city was needed first.
"It's going to be very illuminating on what we can do together and what the city of Richmond can do to make sure this never happens again," he said.
As Radio IQ reported yesterday, Richmond's water systems are old. Avula said Wednesday one plant was 100 years old and a second is 50 years old. Years of underfunding haven't helped brace them for the crisis the city is currently facing.
Both Avula and Youngkin also said they were affected by the water outage with Avula admitting - much like this intrepid reporter- he hadn’t showered since Monday morning.
Late this afternoon, Henrico County residents were told to boil their water, joining residents in Richmond and eastern Hanover County.
Those who can’t leave their homes but need water can dial 311 in the city and 211 in the county to get water delivered to their door.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
