HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — The Henrico County Department of Public Utilities has responded to three water main breaks over the last three days — and the department’s director says the temperature was a contributing factor in all three.
The first water main break took place on Saturday at the intersection of North Parham Road and Eastridge Road. The break caused flooding in the area but it has since been repaired and the road will be repaved, starting next week.
The second break took place at around 4:15 on Monday morning at the intersection of Nine Mile Road and East Laburnum Avenue. The break closed East Laburnum to nearby drivers, but it has since been repaired and the road has reopened.
The third break took place just a few hours later, at the intersection of West Broad Street and Old Sadler Road. This break forced the bathrooms inside a nearby Wawa to close until further notice.
According to Bentley Chan, Director of the Henrico County Department of Public Utilizes, says the current low temperatures being felt across the Richmond region have played a huge role in the recurring water main breaks the county has dealt with.
“This is a normal occurrence across the country and across the world in very, very extremely frigid temperatures,” said Chan. “It’s nothing totally out the norm for us in like a season like this, like where it gets like really, really cold, really, really fast.”
Chan told 8News Henrico has staff and contractors on call around the clock to respond to unexpected events like water main breaks.
These are not the only three water main breaks in the Richmond area over the last few days. On Sunday afternoon, a break caused heavy flooding near the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond.
