Richmond Faces Boil Water Notice Following Federal Cut of $12 Million FEMA Grant

On Tuesday, May 27th, the primary water treatment plant in Richmond, Virginia issued a boil water advisory to a large portion of the city. This recent boil water advisory was issued because of clogged filters, leading to high turbidity and poor water quality.

This is the second boil water advisory the city has issued in 2025, with the first taking place in January and lasting for five days. The previous advisory was put in place following a power outage at the 100-year-old system. Between the two advisories, a $12 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was canceled. The grant, awarded in August of 2023, would have been used to pay for updates to the feeder channel, concrete wall, and berms at the Richmond Water Treatment Facility. This canceled grant is consistent with the billions of dollars of other canceled grants from FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program.