Category Archives: water

Neighborhood Storm Drain Marking Project/RVA CleanSweep On March 15

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From email announcement:

On Sunday, March 15, at 12:30 pm, we will be organizing a neighborhood-wide storm drain marking project to help raise awareness about the importance of keeping pollutants out of our storm drains and protecting the James River. We’ll gather for a light lunch at 12:30 pm at St. Andrew’s Community House (236 S. Laurel right beside the church) and then head out from there. All are invited to join us; please RSVP if you plan on volunteering by emailing me (abailey at standrewsoregonhill.org) so we will have enough food.

Click here for the event posting on the St. Andrew’s Church website.

Also, there is a MeetUp.com page for an Oregon Hill cleanup organized by RVA Clean Sweep for the morning of March 15.

We’ll be cleaning up surrounding streets and alleyways and will split up into groups depending on attendance. RVA Clean Sweep will provide trash bags, pickers, and gloves, but please wear sturdy shoes and bring water.

StormDrain

IMPORTANT Update on Water Outage

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Ignore the warning below. The City’s DPU has pulled the advisory:

The Department of Public Utilities has determined it is not necessary to boil water following the Harrison-Cumberland water main break and widespread outages today. No data supports a mandatory boiled water notice.

Previously-

From City Department of Utilities:

Due to no or low pressure from the water main break at Cumberland and Harrison streets, Monday, Jan. 19 for some customers, those impacted are advised not to drink tap water without boiling it first. A lack of water pressure can cause backflow of water from contaminated sources, and as a precaution, this boil water notice is being issued.

We will add the boundaries of the impacted area as soon as that information is available.

City crews will be in the area flushing the water lines and samples will be collected for water quality. It will take 48 hours for the sample results from the laboratory and additional information will be provided at that time. If customers have questions, they are advised to call 311 for additional information. The Virginia Department of Health is also available to answer questions. You may contact Bennett Ragnauth or Moshen Shahramfar at 674-2880.

Boil your tap water. Failure to follow this advisory could result in stomach or intestinal illness. Do not drink tap water without boiling it first. Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, beverage and food preparation, and making ice until further notice. Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in the water. Boiling is the preferred method to assure that the tap water is safe to drink. Bring all tap water to a rolling boil, let it boil for one minute, and let it cool before using, or use bottled water.

If you cannot boil your tap water, an alternative method of purification for residents that do not have gas or electricity available is to use liquid household bleach to disinfect water. The bleach product should be recently purchased, free of additives and scents, and should contain a hypochlorite solution of at least 5.25 percent. Public health officials recommend adding eight drops of bleach (about ¼ teaspoon) to each gallon of water. The water should be stirred and allowed to stand for at least 30 minutes before use.

Water purification tablets may also be used by following the manufacturer’s instructions. Please share this information with all people who drink the impacted water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly.

Water Main Break At Cumberland and Harrison Causes Service Issues

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From Times Dispatch article:

A 24-inch water main break shut down service to much of the city Monday morning and while pressure has been restored to most customers others may not get things flowing again until Tuesday morning.

Oregon Hill neighbors have reported having water pressure issues. It is unclear how much service has been restored.

Water Leak at Idlewood and Cherry

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A neighbor reports this morning:

water leak at idlewood and cherry has taken a turn for the worse. I noticed cars sliding on the long patch of ice that the leak turned into over night while trying to stop at the light. I called it in. I know someone else mentioned calling it in a week or so ago, but the city reported being unable to find an open case on the matter.

Here is a previous See Click Fix on it:

Issue ID: 1382972
Viewed: 8 times
Neighborhood: Oregon Hill
Reported: on 2014-11-30
DESCRIPTION
Cherry & Idlewood St.: The water is still seeping out of the manhole cover as of Sunday night. I think it had stopped for while on Sunday, but I’m not sure. It’s a fairly small amount of water. BY the way, does “Open” mean no one from the City has looked at this post yet? It’s a holiday weekend, so I imagine there’s not a lot of staff til Monday….

“Our River at Risk” On Wednesday

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From Richmond.com article:

Many of us in Richmond watched the train tank cars burn as they rested precariously on the banks of the James in Lynchburg and could easily envision the same type of accident happening here in the capital city. What if a few of those highly flammable tanks dropped off the nearly three-miles long CSX Viaduct onto Brown’s Island during Friday Cheers or the Richmond Folk Festival?

…

(Editor’s note: see earlier posts on this subject by clicking here and here.)

The article continues:

For the next session of the General Assembly, the JRA will be pushing for stricter management and oversight and will be asking the public for support for the following issues:
-Rail transport of highly volatile Bakken crude oil from the Midwest. Crude oil by rail transport has increased 450 percent over the past five years. These trains are carrying over a million gallons of crude oil through our watershed two to five times per week. Governor McAuliffe convened a rail safety task force which will solicit input from industry stakeholders, local governments and members of the public and produce a report of recommended state and federal actions to prevent railroad accidents and ensure that Virginia is prepared as possible to keep communities safe in the case of a future incident.
-The James River watershed is home to coal ash ponds capable of holding 5 billion gallons of coal ash stretching from the headwaters to the mouth of the river. Despite being a highly toxic material, Virginia does not regulate coal ash as a solid or hazardous waste product and is not acting to stop contamination from coal ash ponds.
-The storage of the majority of chemicals in Virginia is not covered by any regulatory program. Review current industry practices and determine range of standards. Fill any gaps identified in the existing industry toxic storage policies and procedures with standards that ensure adequate safeguards and inspections for the storage of all chemicals.

According to a release, “We must learn from these events and take immediate action to protect public safety, the environment, the economy that the river supports and its recreational value. Our safety requirements and procedures need to be up to date to address current threats and to prevent a crippling event from happening in the future. Now is the time to begin the conversation on how to protect our waterways and our citizens from the threats posed by the storage and transport of hazardous materials.”
If you’d like to have your voice heard, join the forum Wednesday, Nov. 12, from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Virginia War Memorial. Your James River needs you.

City Council Matters

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From Councilperson Agelasto’s FaceBook page:

City Council will meet on Monday, September 8, at 6:00 pm. The agenda can be found on the City Clerk’s website. Please be mindful that any ordinance or resolution could be continued during the docket review at City Council’s informal meeting at 4:00 pm.
The agenda currently includes 47 items, many of which are of interest to the public and have received significant media attention. These include:
Ordinance No. 2014-94 – Special Use Permit for The Camel at 1619/1621 W. Broad Street.
Ordinance No. 2014-121 – Special Use Permit for a historic property located at 1650 Overbrook Road. An application for historic tax credits is currently under review by the Department of Historic Resources as there is information that may prohibit the project from proceeding as submitted.
Ordinance No. 2014-125 – To appropriate new revenue to the city as a result of expiring rehabilitation tax abatement to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund up to $1,000,000 annually.
Ordinance No. 2014-152 – To establish the MetroCare Water Assistance and Conservation Program to provide financial assistance to certain qualified customers for plumbing repairs and the replacement of water-inefficient appliances.
Ordinance No. 2014-153 – Special Use Permit for the Leigh Street Armory (122 W. Leigh Street) to be used as a museum for the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia.
Ordinance No. 2014-155 – To received funds in the amount of $417,418 from VDOT to pay for the construction of the Floyd Avenue Bike Boulevard. This is the primary vote that City Council will take to approve or deny this project.
Resolution No. 2014-R157 – To assess exist policies and budget resources to support anti-litter initiatives and to establish a campaign to be called “Keep RVA Beautiful” that could be supported regionally.
Resolution No. 2014-R158 – To develop a Rental Inspection Program and submit proposals to City Council for further consideration. [This resolution simply seeks more information on specifics for a program that could be implemented in Richmond. Details such as budget implications, possible footprint of districts, rollout of communication to property owners are all necessary. We are looking at making the development of the proposal an inclusive process. We are not seeking to rush this. We are waiting for Code Enforcement staff to inform City Council of a reasonable timeline for developing the program details and guidelines and will amend the resolution as necessary. This will likely result in a continuation of the resolution until the October meeting of City Council.]
Resolution No. 2014-R161 – To approve a budget for the Economic Development Authority. [Not sure what the funds will be used for as there has been no presentation to City Council on this request. I will ask that it be sent to Committee for further review.]
Ordinance No. 2014-71 and No. 2014-78 – Special Use Permit for 2801 E. Main Street (aka Pear Street). The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported this morning that Councilwoman Cynthia Newbille does not support the current proposal. This may or may not be voted on by City Council.
Ordinance No. 2014-148 – To reinstate the Career Development program for Fire and Police and to amend the budget to equal the number of pay periods each department will receive.

Also, notice was recently sent out about City Council’s planned retreat. From press release:

On Monday, September 29, 2014, Richmond City Council will hold its annual planning meeting/retreat, beginning at 8:00 a.m. at the Virginia War Memorial, 621 South Belvidere Street, Richmond, Virginia. The morning session will include a bus tour of Richmond Voter Districts.

While many citizens will remain focused on the hot button issues (the Camel’s SUP, Pear St., Shockoe stadium proposal), there are other ones worth following also…

In regard to Ordinance No. 2014-152, Better Government Richmond has some questions (Ed.’s disclosure: I serve on BGR’s board and have helped lead earlier utility reform efforts).