Water main break leaves Richmond residents waterless

Matt Leonard
Online Content Editor

A water main break at the intersection of Harrison Street and Parkwood Avenue left Richmond residents, students and businesses without water Monday morning.

The 24-inch main break has left a hole at the intersection. Utility crews will be working to locate and fix the break throughout the day.

The announcement of the fix will not be expected until late tonight or early this morning, leaving residents without water until then, said Angela Fountain, public information manager for the Department of Public Utilities.

Starting early Monday morning, the Department of Public Utilities was receiving reports of low water pressure and no water. Fountain said isolating the broken main has restored pressure, but locations completely without water will have to wait until the break is restored.

There were reports of VCU Medical System losing water, but Fountain said that was never the case.

“I don’t believe the VCU hospital or VCU ever lost water,” she said. “But there was low water pressure and pressure should have been restored.”

An email sent by Samantha Mills, a housing director in the Rhodes, Brandt and West Grace South dormitories, said there could be water pressure fluctuations throughout the day.

Fountain said there are numerous factors involved in a main break, but age was likely the main factor.

“There are a lot of old cast iron mains in the city of Richmond,” she said.

The city routinely attempts to locate, repair or replace the old pipes that are at risk of failure, Fountain said.