RICHMOND, Va — An operator at the Richmond water treatment plant knew about exceeding fluoride levels in the water several days before the issue was reported to regulators and regional stakeholders, according to a city spokesperson. Meanwhile, a state health official said Richmond’s Department of Public Utilities did not test samples of its water distribution system in the multiple days following the overflow of fluoride.
An installation of a new pump at the Richmond water treatment plant caused “increased” and “unknown” levels of fluoride to temporarily flow into the water system, according to officials, but it took five days until state authorities, city and county utility leaders, and the public learned about the incident.
Here’s what we’ve been able to learn about the timeline:
According to the Virginia Department of Health’s Drinking Water Director Dwayne Roadcap, who is leading a state investigation into the incident, the city was not adding fluoride to its water from January 6, the beginning of the catastrophic water crisis, through April 22.
Last Wednesday on April 23, Roadcap said the city resumed fluoridation but stopped the process that same day after higher-than-normal levels of fluoride were added to the water for a period of five hours.
Though Roadcap said the city is required to report such an issue to VDH within 24 hours, that didn’t happen. In fact, no one reported the incident until five days later.
On Sunday night, the Virginia Department of Emergency Management said someone who identified themselves as an employee of the city’s water plant called VDEM’s situational awareness unit to report a “potential fluoride leak.” That call is what triggered notifications to VDH and the surrounding counties.
DPU spokesperson Rhonda Johnson said DPU Director Scott Morris learned of the incident late that same Sunday night and then contacted city leadership, regional utility directors, and VDH.
Johnson said an “operator in responsible charge” should have been responsible for reporting the issue to the state and counties in a timely manner. She added it was her understanding that the operator became aware of the increased fluoride levels the day following the incident, Thursday April 24.
When asked what accountability measures were taken in response to the communication failure, Johnson said she could not share details about a personnel matter.
Johnson said no samples from the distribution system throughout the region exceeded the maximum contaminant level of 4.0 milligrams per liter. Some samples in Richmond’s distribution system, which were taken beginning Monday, April 28, did exceed a secondary maximum contaminant level of 2.0, which can create a cosmetic concern for young children if there’s long-term exposure. However, this incident was considered an acute exposure, and state health officials said they did not identify any risk to public health because of it.
Roadcap said the city’s sampling was done on Monday, five days after the overflow. He said the city did not take samples Wednesday through Sunday despite starting and stopping the fluoridation process on Wednesday, April 23. That means there’s no way to know what the city’s fluoride levels were on those days, at least in the distribution system.
However, Johnson said DPU did take samples at the water treatment plant on Thursday, April 24 and has readings from those samples that exceeded the secondary maximum contaminant level. CBS 6 asked whether distribution samples should’ve been taken as well and is waiting to hear back.
As a matter of standard protocol, Chesterfield County opts to take daily water samples at the three entry points to its system to test for a number of water quality parameters including fluoride. The testing is not required by regulation and rather a “best practice” that’s been in place for the past three decades, according to county officials.
Chesterfield said it recorded its highest level of fluoride passing through the entry point on Friday, April 25. That 3.86 mg/L reading was just below the 4.0 maximum contaminant level and did not create a health risk since it was not a long-term exposure. The other two entry point readings were below 2.0.
“One reason Chesterfield has higher reported levels of fluoride than other jurisdictions is because other reported levels were taken the week of April 28—several days following the release. The reason for the variance in the fluoride readings for the three points of entry on the same day would be how the City of Richmond’s water distribution system is constructed and operated, as the path and time it takes the water from the water treatment plant to reach each point of entry varies,” said county spokesperson J. Elias.
Roadcap said VDH’s investigation into this matter remains ongoing, and he intends to issue the city a notice of alleged violation based on the facts gathered so far.
Original article online at: https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/richmond-fluoride-overflow-update-april-30-2025