RICHMOND, VA (AP/CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Richmond’s water outage, caused by a power failure at the city’s water treatment plant during a winter storm, has disrupted daily life for many households since Monday. The outage has left taps dry or flowing with water that has to be boiled because of contamination concerns. Locals like Theresa Fulgham and Latoya Jones have resorted to a range of solutions, including melting snow to flush toilets and relying on bottled water for basic daily tasks. Fulgham took her client to a YMCA for a shower, while Jones joked about taking her children on a “field trip” to a local high school to use its water. More than 4,000 non-members have used YMCA locations for hot showers since the crisis began, according to the organization.

City officials say the water system is now fully pressurized, but a boil-water advisory remains in effect until at least Friday as testing for bacteria continues. Mayor Danny Avula said the advisory will be lifted once two rounds of testing, taken 16 hours apart, confirm the water is safe. The crisis also impacted neighboring Henrico and Hanover counties, which issued boil-water advisories. Richmond, home to about 200,000 people, has given out over 45,000 gallons of bottled water at 11 sites and provided water deliveries to some neighborhoods. Governor Youngkin acknowledged the community’s frustrations and said addressing the water system’s challenges will be a priority. Mayor Avula also stressed the need to evaluate and improve infrastructure to prevent future outages in a press conference..