RICHMOND, Va. — Multiple Richmond neighborhoods are now under a localized boil water advisory after the city's water treatment plant experienced an operational issue early Tuesday that temporarily reduced water production, according to city officials. Updates here.
CBS 6 checked with neighboring counties to see what, if any, impact this may have outside the city.
Henrico County
"Henrico has temporarily disconnected from the city of Richmond’s water distribution system and continues to monitor the county’s system after clogged filters overnight caused the city to suspend operations at its water treatment plant.
While Richmond has issued a boil water advisory for some of its customers, Henrico is not under a boil water advisory at this time. Henrico’s water remains safe for consumption and use. As of 7:30 a.m., the county’s Department of Public Utilities had closed valves at connections to the city’s system, which serves portions of central and eastern Henrico. Henrico’s water tanks, which had been kept at capacity, are supplying customers who typically are served by the city. Water pressure remains normal countywide. Public Utilities also continues to test water samples throughout the system. In addition, Henrico is working closely with Hanover County, which also has been impacted.
Henrico officials became aware of the issues at Richmond’s water treatment plant at approximately 12:27 a.m. Tuesday, when the city’s plant superintendent reported to Henrico Public Utilities that a majority of the city’s filters had been clogged by excessive sediment in the James River. At the city’s request, Henrico Public Utilities reduced the amount of water that it was drawing from the city’s system. Henrico has staff onsite at the city’s water treatment plant and will provide resources as needed to navigate the situation.
As this is an ongoing situation, Henrico will provide updates at 3:30 and 5:30 p.m."
Chesterfield County
Chesterfield County has reported no impact on its water supply.
"At approximately 12:45 a.m. on Tuesday May 27, 2025, Chesterfield Utilities received a call from the City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities (DPU) indicating its personnel were having treatment challenges at their water treatment plant. To assist the city with reducing water demands while they resolve the issue, Richmond DPU requested Chesterfield reduce or stop taking water from the city. By 2 a.m., Chesterfield Utilities operations staff stopped taking water from the three points of entry from the City of Richmond and transitioned its customers to other water sources. Chesterfield’s water remains safe to consume, and its water distribution system has continued to operate as designed through this incident," a Chesterfield County spokesperson said.
Hanover County
"Hanover County is not under a boil water advisory at this time," a county spokesperson posted on social media. "Water pressure from Richmond to Hanover is safely above the 20 psi threshold that would require a boil advisory. As a precaution, we are asking residents to conserve water until further notice by turning off automatic irrigation systems. We are working closely with the Virginia Department of Health and our regional partners to monitor the situation at Richmond’s water plant."
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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