Henrico County officials are working to maintain water service to St. Mary’s Hospital, located along Monument Avenue.
“We’re trying to figure out a way to coordinate keeping St. Mary’s online,” said Victor Valenzuela, Henrico’s assistant construction director, just after 1 p.m. Thursday. “St. Mary’s does have water service right now.”
Public utility officials said workers were able to isolate the outage so that the effect on the hospital would be minimal.
Hospital spokesperson Jenna Green wrote in an email that the “situation is continuously changing” and that the hospital has updates on its website.
Green also noted that St. Mary’s had suspended water service but had low water pressure as of 8 a.m. and was on a boil water advisory that went into effect across Henrico Wednesday afternoon.
A prolonged period of cold caused the main to break, according to Bentley Chan, the county’s director of public utilities.
“Not too long ago, we were in the 70s,” he said, referring to the temperature. “Now we’re in the 30s, 20s and the teens.” Chan said the problem should be repaired by Thursday night.
The break occurred near the corner of Bremo Road and Monument Avenue before rush hour Thursday morning, causing county officials to close westbound portions of Monument so crews could stem the breach.
Around 10 a.m., workers could be seen handling a pipe with water gushing from it downhill. A fire hydrant had been opened and was also releasing water at the corner of Monument Avenue and Keystone Drive.
Some area residents reported waking to flooded yards and trickling water service from their taps.
“My wife woke up this morning and headed to the gym, but today she ended up having to get in through the passenger side of the car because our whole side [of the driveway] was completely flooded,” said Chip Loving, who lives on Keystone Drive.
He said the water was rushing “like a river” near his house, adding that there was also a slight odor.
Loving told VPM News that county officials had not been forthcoming with information.
“I was hoping you were with the county to tell us what was going on,” he said.
Chan — who said about 40 households were experiencing water service disruptions due to the breach as of 2 p.m. — said disseminating information has been a challenge given the chaotic nature of the week.
“We’re trying to be as transparent as possible and get people information as quickly as possible,” he said.
Residents wanting information on water should call (804) 501-4275 and choose option 2. Residents with emergency public works calls should call (804) 727-8700 during work hours or (804) 501-5025 after hours.
