Richmond, VA – Parts of Central Virginia are still grappling with water outages that have left many residents without access to clean water and local businesses scrambling to adapt. Hanover County, one of the hardest-hit areas, remains under a boil water advisory, with no clear timeline from officials on when the situation will return to normal.
According to an update from Hanover County on Wednesday evening, officials indicated that water might be fully restored by Thursday. However, many residents, particularly those living east of Interstate 95—including Mechanicsville and parts of the Chickahominy District—are still uncertain about when their water supply will be back to normal.
One of the businesses directly impacted by the outage is Giambanco’s Italian Restaurant in Hanover. The establishment has been without water since Tuesday, forcing it to transition to takeout-only service. Restaurant owner Felippo Giambanco shared the difficulties of operating under these conditions, explaining that he has had to rely on a personal well to fill buckets for handwashing stations. He has also been saving water in sinks and pots in an effort to stay operational.
“We don’t know when water’s going to come back,” Giambanco said. “If it’s 3 o’clock, 4 o’clock, yes we can open, but if it’s not, we do another day like yesterday—where we open up and shut down and have no income.”
On the first day of the water outage, the restaurant was forced to close early, but it has since kept its doors open for takeout. In addition to these challenges, Giambanco has been purchasing bottled water to distribute to residents in need, demonstrating the sense of community solidarity in the face of the crisis.
The water outage stems from issues with the Byrd Park Reservoir, which serves both Hanover County and Richmond. Richmond officials confirmed on Wednesday that they have been working to replenish the reservoir, but restoring clean running water and normal pressure will take time.
In response to the ongoing crisis, Hanover County set up bottled water distribution sites for residents and businesses. While officials have assured that residents of Mechanicsville will begin seeing water return soon, the restoration of full water pressure will be gradual.
As the situation unfolds, the community is left waiting for clearer communication from local authorities. Giambanco, like many others in the area, has found it challenging to make daily decisions without a clear sense of when the water will be fully restored.
“You go home, you close the restaurant, you don’t know what tomorrow brings, and you wake up, try to get the day started to see if the water’s there, if you’re able to open,” Giambanco said. “Your employees are blowing up the phone seeing if they gotta come in to work, if we’re going to open, what time. But there’s no answers, we’re just going hour by hour, day by day, but it’s hard when we don’t have the answers.”
As Hanover County and surrounding areas continue to face uncertainty, both residents and business owners remain hopeful for quicker resolutions and more transparent communication from officials.
