Richmond water main repair nears completion, 'final testing' underway

RICHMOND, Va. — Richmond's Department of Public Utilities says repairs to the 36-inch water main that broke on July 3 have reached their final phase, with the pipe expected to return to service this week if testing is completed successfully.

Crews have installed a new section of 36-inch water main. The remaining work includes pressure testing, disinfection and water quality sampling to verify the integrity of the pipe and ensure it meets all regulatory requirements before being placed back into service.

DPU Director Scott Morris said the milestone reflects the dedication of the crews and contractors who worked to complete the repair.

"We're now focused on completing the final testing process so the water main can be returned to service with confidence," Morris said.

The replaced section of pipe had been identified for replacement through DPU's 10-year Capital Improvement Program, according to officials.

Lingering pressure issues and questions about the response

In the days following the break, some residents raised concerns about how the city handled communication during the outage — and the state's top drinking water official acknowledged the city had more options than it exercised.

Some Richmond residents in the Near West End and Westhampton reported low water pressure for more than 36 hours following the break, even after DPU announced Friday evening that pressure had been restored. Residents sent CBS 6 videos showing water sputtering from shower heads and trickling from sinks as late as Saturday morning.

One Near West End resident said he felt the city declared victory too soon, leaving some neighborhoods still without adequate pressure.

While DPU has not directly answered questions about what caused some neighborhoods to experience extended pressure problems, Dwayne Roadcap, Director of the Office of Drinking Water at the Virginia Department of Health, said the complexities of the city's distribution system may help explain the disparate impacts.

"It's possible that you can have disparate or different kind of impacts in the distribution system. It can depend on how close you are to the break, it can depend on your elevation, it can depend on the size of the water line that's feeding your area," Roadcap said.

Roadcap said the city was not required to issue a boil water advisory but could have issued a precautionary one for communities with prolonged low water pressure. A precautionary advisory would not confirm contamination but would serve as a protective measure.

"The city had the choice to do one, and it decided that it wasn't necessary. From the public drinking water side of it, we were comfortable with that decision based on what we were seeing, just like what the city of Richmond was seeing," Roadcap said.

WATCH: Richmond water main break impacts parts of Henrico amid ongoing repairs

Break impacted parts of Richmond, Henrico and Hanover counties

The break was first detected around 1:30 a.m. on July 3, when Richmond DPU crews traced low pressure in the water system to a 36-inch line parallel to the canal, below Windsor Farms near the city's water treatment plant. The break caused low water pressure and outages across parts of Richmond and into Henrico and Hanover counties.

Morris previously estimated it could take anywhere from two to three weeks "if everything goes perfect and there's no issues." But repairs could run from roughly four to six weeks "if there are issues and it's more complex." The repair has now reached its final phase ahead of that timeline.

Richmond's water treatment plant supplies water to Richmond as well as Chesterfield, Hanover, Henrico, Goochland and Powhatan counties.