Richmond residents right now are happy to hear that we no longer have to boil City water (but maybe still conserve somewhat)!

Many are glad to have water at all after a catastrophic failure at a city water treatment facility on Monday. The crisis made some national news, but was easily eclipsed in the media by the horrific fires in Southern California. The whole region is relieved and thankful to public servants who quickly addressed the situation before last night’s snow storm made the situation worse. The volunteers and mutual aid groups have earned credit and sincere applause as well.

New Richmond Mayor Danny Avula also deserves credit for how calmly and carefully he has handled this beginning-of-the-year crisis. Despite some small miscommunications, he has been very present and willing to answer questions to the best of his knowledge. He has also not been afraid to let reporters know when he does not know something and has expressed his willingness and desire to get answers. Avula won the mayoral election in part because of his experience in public health (including during the height of the pandemic) and holding press conferences and his confidence shows.

These accolades aside, citizens are rightly asking for a full investigation and report on why this water crisis happened, what exactly transpired, ‘lessons learned’, and what is necessary to keep it from happening again. The real challenge though, is getting recognition that is latest fiasco is emblematic of what has plagued Richmond, and indeed, this whole country, for far too long – putting PRIVATE, corporate priorities over PUBLIC, citizen priorities. Will new Richmond leadership change the pattern?

After all, we have seen this too many times before. In one memorable example in 2014, conditions and maintenance at Richmond Public Schools were in crisis, while the Mayor and City government were celebrating their investment in a new practice field for the Washington Redskins football team. At that point, Open High students lead a city wide walkout in protest.
Of course, I could bring up many other prior and recent examples as well- Center Stage, anyone?

Some would argue that RPS and Richmond leaders never really learned the lesson about the importance of maintenance and disaster recovery for schools until historic, treasured Fox Elementary School burned down. This week, the City was gearing up for a bigger celebration of Fox’s replaced cupola when the water crisis broke out.

This website has brought up many times before the need for complete reform of the utility department, which the City has treated more like a ‘cash cow’ than a vital service. I went as far as writing then-Governor Northam about the need for drastic reform. I have also written about how, stuck under corporate control, the City has been held back from renewable energy and other needed technologies that could greatly benefit everyone. Imagine if the City water plant had distributed solar and micro-hydro as backup power supplies.

More specific to the water treatment facilities, read the narratives, even in what was supplied to the Planning Commission last June. The language is completely clear regarding pumping and electrical problems at the station. Why wasn’t this taken care of?

Today, citizens are wondering if new corporate priorities distracted Richmond officials from maintaining and modernizing the City’s water utility. After all, City leaders, including Oregon Hill’s own councilperson, Planning Commission, have fallen all over each other in their rush to support and promote one of the latest PRIVATE, corporate projects, a new riverfront amphitheater. $36 million in tax relief! That money could have gone a long way towards fixing and promoting disaster recovery at the PUBLIC water utility! Citizens know the local corporate media will not bring up such correlations, even as small businesses, like local restaurants, have had to close because of the lack of water, never mind the suffering of Richmond residents.

Richmonders can take some cold comfort in knowing that we are not alone. Many made the connection to the water disaster in Flint, Michigan, that began in April 2014 when that city switched its drinking water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River. The Flint River water was not properly treated, which caused pipes to corrode and release lead and other contaminants into the drinking water. The reality is that many municipal water systems across the country are dealing with neglect.

One Richmond-area friend has this scary thought – “Just Thinking about the Water Thing in Richmond Virginia, what is happening now. What could be Very Wrong with 4 aging Nuclear Reactors in the State of North Anna one and Two North Anna is on a Fault Line and With Surry County One and Two Of Dominion Power.”

IT’S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT CITIZENS KEEP THE PRESSURE ON GOING FORWARD. Everything should be on the table for close examination, not just technical matters, but City priorities, budgeting, personnel, contracts, ACCOUNTABILITY. Some right-wingers want to blame one administrator and DEI policies, which is dumb, given the breadth of the matter. Officials and reporters may purposely dive into the technical minutia, and some of that is absolutely necessary, but as with the schools, as with the homeless, as with far too many other issues, citizens are wise to keep the bigger picture in mind – understanding that our government is putting PRIVATE, corporate priorities over PUBLIC, citizen priorities. Will new Richmond leadership change the pattern? There are ways to do this, there are even ways to codify this…so…

KEEP THE PRESSURE ON (and watch the money!).