Officials say water service in Hanover County is expected to be restored on Wednesday
Jan 08, 2025
HANOVER COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Hanover County officials said water service is expected to be restored for some residents in the county by Wednesday evening, with some residents still under a boil water advisory until further notice.
In an update provided on Hanover County's Facebook page on Wednesday, Jan. 8, officials said the City of Richmond has been putting water in the Byrd Park Reservoir early that morning.
"What that means for us and our system is our direct feed into the Mechanicsville area comes through the Byrd Park Reservoir, and so as the Byrd Park Reservoir continues to fill, we are hopeful to start seeing some of that water later this afternoon into this evening," said Matt Longshore, director of Hanover County's Public Utilities.
Longshore said the county is coordinating closely with the City of Richmond to determine when the reservoir has reached a level where the county can put it into its system.
County officials said residents located east of Interstate 95, including the Mechanicsville area and parts of the Chickahominy district may begin to see water coming back into the system on Wednesday but are still under a boil water advisory and should conserve water.
Residents located west of I-95 in the Ashland area are not under a boil water advisory, but officials ask these residents to conserve water.
"If you are on a private well, you are not impacted by this in any way," said Hanover County Administrator John Budesky. "If you are on Aqua Virginia system, we encourage you to contact Aqua Virginia for updates [877-987-2782]. They are having some impacts in some regions and not in others."
Longshore said when water service has been resumed, some residents may notice some sediment or air entrainment in the water which he said is normal due to the volatility of pressures that have been in the system in the last 24 hours.
"We just want to make you aware of that -- that there may be some sediment or some air entrainment in the water," Longshore said. "Sometimes what that looks like is a speck of dirt here and there, natural sediments in the system, or the water could be cloudy when it comes out of the tap."
Longshore said these appearances in the water are due to air in the system, and that the air and sediments will naturally work their way out of the system.
At noon on Wednesday, the county will hold water distributions at the following locations until 7 p.m. while supplies last:
Water bottle distribution sites
Atlee High School (football field parking lot), located at 9414 Atlee Station Road
Cold Harbor Elementary School, located at 6740 Cold Harbor Road
Sites to receive potable water in containers residents must bring with them
Hanover County Government Complex, located at 7516 County Complex Road
Bass Pro Shop, located at 11550 Lakeridge Parkway in Ashland
This comes after the county said it disconnected its water supply from the City of Richmond's system and was using internal pumps due to the ongoing water issues in the city on Tuesday, Jan. 7.
‘It’s our lifeline’: Hanover residents line up for water distribution, frustrated at lack of communication
On Tuesday, a county spokesperson said that these measures were issued as a precaution, adding that there is no contamination in the water.
Officials said residents can call 804-365-6024 until 9 p.m. on Wednesday to receive additional information regarding water service in Hanover County. Residents with medical needs are also advised to call this number to share their needs with the county to receive support.
"We will continue to operate the potable water resources until the boil water notice is lifted," Budesky said. "We anticipate that the boil water notice will be lifted no sooner than 48 hours but may continue as long as 72. We will continue to keep you updated."