Posted Mar. 3, 2025

Independent investigation provides detailed analysis and recommendations to prevent future water service disruptions

The City of Richmond is releasing the Draft After-Action Assessment report from HNTB, the independent firm investigating the January water crisis that affected residents across the region. This in-depth assessment builds on HNTB's preliminary findings released earlier this month and identifies specific factors that led to the water service disruption, while outlining concrete steps to prevent similar incidents.

What Caused the Water Outage According to the report, the Jan. 6 incident began with a power outage during a winter storm, but was compounded by two critical factors:

1. The water treatment plant was operating in "Winter Mode," which relied on a single power source instead of the more resilient dual-power "Summer Mode."

2. When the main power feed failed, an automatic transfer switch (called a "Bus Tie") failed to activate, preventing power from switching to the second available power source.

This combination of factors led to a loss of power at the plant for approximately 80 minutes, which led to water flooding the plant's basement and damage to essential electrical equipment that resulted in the service disruption.

Immediate Actions Already Taken Under the leadership of Department of Public Utilities Director Dr. Anthony "Scott" Morris, DBA, PE, the City has already implemented several key recommendations from HNTB's reports:

• The water treatment plant now permanently operates in "Summer Mode" with dual power feeds, eliminating the single point of power failure that contributed to the January incident.

• New emergency response protocols have been established for inclement weather events.

• Staffing standards have been upgraded, particularly for critical operations, electrical, and engineering positions during potential emergency situations.

• Inspection protocols for equipment, fuel, chemicals, and systems have been strengthened.

• Approximately $5 million has been invested in critical plant repairs and upgrades.

These improvements have already shown positive results, with the plant successfully maintaining operations through several recent snowstorms without service disruptions.

Next Steps The City is continuing to implement additional recommendations from the report, including improvements to backup power systems, valve controls, communication protocols, and staff training.

A final comprehensive report will follow and will also be released to the public. The City remains committed to full transparency throughout this process and to implementing the necessary improvements to ensure resilient water service for residents.

Download the complete Draft After-Action Assessment Report.