Richmond , Hanover and Henrico lifted their boil water advisories on Saturday afternoon.
Why it matters: That means the city has drinkable water for the first time in nearly five days. Parts of Hanover have gone three days without it. It’s been four for Henrico.
Catch up quick: Before this could happen, the Virginia Department of Health had to test the water for bacteria after full pressure came back Thursday.
- For Richmond, the first test sample was done around 3pm that day and incubated for 24 hours to determine whether bacteria was detected.
- Officials confirmed it wasn’t around 3pm Friday.
- The second test was already underway by 1pm Friday, per the city . By Saturday afternoon, VDH gave the all-clear that it’s safe to drink from the tap again.
Zoom in: Henrico followed a similar pattern, just with different timestamps, and documented the process on X .
- And Mayor Avula said in a Saturday press briefing that the city plant functioned “the entire time” as intended through the snow event.
Pro tip: Locals should now flush their taps, per city guidance. Here’s what VDH says on how to do it and what to do if the water is discolored…