Henrico puts East End water supply line project on fast-track

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — The fast track to Henrico County's five-year goal of water self-sufficiency started at the Richmond Raceway on Oct. 28.

While the groundbreaking was symbolic, work has already begun just down the road at the southern end of the Richmond-Henrico Turnpike.

Henrico's Director of Public Works Terrell Hughes says the county's public utilities department is piggybacking off the work already underway by public works to widen the turnpike and add pedestrian amenities like sidewalks, bike lanes and lighting.

WTVR

"We're able to combine forces with public utilities; they're able to provide funding for the water line. And because we're already handling the maintenance of traffic, we're already mobilizing a construction crew, we're able to save money by combining both of those projects into one and then only impact the public one time," Hughes said.

"We're actually building some of the storm water facilities that are needed to handle some of the additional runoff that will occur with the extra pavement that we're adding," Hughes said.

The project was a decade in the making thanks to a bond referendum passed in 2016.

But plans ultimately changed in January 2025 due to the Richmond Water Crisis, followed by another water emergency three months later that cut off water to the county's East End.

Public Utilities Director Bentley Chan says the joint venture will allow the East End water transmission line to begin more than a year ahead of its official 2028 start date, since the first mile of the 42-inch, zinc-coated ductile iron pipeline, which is more resilient to corrosion, will be installed by Henrico-based Abernathy Construction over the course of the next year.

"We will be alleviating some of that bottle neck that we experienced during the water crisis," Chan said.

With designs for the nearly 13-mile pipeline already 50 percent completed, the East End water transmission line is expected to pick up where this joint project finishes toward the end of 2027.

WTVR

In that time, work will be underway to expand the county's three-chop water treatment facility to handle the increased demand and support neighboring localities in the event of an emergency.

"Right now, we can do about 80 million gallons per day, which should satisfy most if not all of the county today. So, we are looking to push that to 100 million gallons to again provide us with more supply should it be needed," Chan said.

WTVR

David Abernathy, Vice President of Abernathy Construction, says the community is central to the project's success.

"Henrico gives its people the ability to access their good and services in the manner that they choose to so it's really about the people that makes this a successful project," Abernathy said.

The planned completion date for the East End water transmission line will be 2031. For more information about the project, scan the QR code or visit WTVR.com.

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