Neighbors offer support in bottled water hunt during Richmond Water Crisis

    COLONIAL HEIGHTS, Virginia (WTVR) -- As a water crisis gripped Richmond and eastern Henrico County on Monday and Tuesday, some people traveled south on Interstate 95 to find bottled water because stores closer to home had run out.

Karra Miles drove from Richmond to Colonial Heights to help her mom.

“Oh yeah, I got what I got and in and out, about to go make my water delivery to my Mom,” Miles said. “She called me this morning, so I went to make sure she’s good, so I came on to Sam’s Club.”

Another resident, Noelle Smith Harris, also made the trip to Colonial Heights.

She wanted to help not only her family but also others in need.

“To help my neighbors and some seniors in the area to get them some water,” Harris said. “A lot of the stores in Richmond did not have water, they were out of water, so I just decided to get in my Jeep this morning and drive to Sam’s Club and Walmart to try and get water."

On her way there, Harris started calling people to see if they needed water.

“We have probably, it’s 50 gallons of water and about 7 cases of water and there’s water in the front as well,” she said.

Her God-Mother appreciated the help.

“My car is still under snow and I hadn’t had any plans of going out to get water, so the fact they are out and about and checking on me, I’m thankful for that," she said.

Harris also had a special request for water made specifically for babies to use in formula, and she was able to get that, too.

Thacker Ace Hardware in Colonial Heights and Petersburg is also trying to meet the demand for bottled water.

“We actually offer a lot of cases of water and even offer distilled water and we’re getting a whole lot more on the truck this Thursday for those people who are struggling," Chris Byrd, from Thacker Ace Hardware, said.