Richmond, Va. and the Virginia State Capitol (Getty)
Others, like Virginia Republican Party chair Richard Anderson, placed blame on the recently-departed Democratic mayor who is now running for lieutenant governor.
"[The crisis is] a direct result of inept leadership by former Mayor Levar Stoney of Richmond--who presided over his city's crumbling infrastructure," Anderson said.
"Stoney as LG? Never."
The crisis hit less than one week after the current Democratic mayor, Dr. Danny Avula, took office.
Avula, previously a pediatrician at Chippenham Hospital in neighboring Chesterfield County, said he has been hands-on since the water system first failed.
Avula said he spent much of Tuesday night at the city plant and announced Wednesday morning that some of the pumps are beginning to come back online.
"We're starting to see that reservoir level fill up. It's really encouraging. Right now the reservoir level is at 7ft for some context. [Our] reservoirs typically run at about 18ft."
Avula’s work drew him bipartisan praise, including from one prominent Republican.
YOUNGKIN INVITES NEW TRUMP ADMIN TO SETTLE IN VA OVER DC, MD
Recently-departed Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney speaks on infrastructure alongside Del. Eleanor Holmes-Norton, D-DC, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-CA.
Del. Wren Williams, R-Stuart, said Richmond has been a city "plagued by systemic neglect and a lack of accountability."
"Now, Stoney wants to be our commonwealth's next lieutenant governor. Despite the city's growing infrastructure needs, Democrats in Richmond allowed critical issues like water contamination and aging pipes to fester, leaving residents vulnerable to unsafe drinking water and deteriorating public health," Williams said.
He previously proposed a bill that would have allowed state agencies to study utility upgrades and provide engineering support.
With Democrats marginally in control of the legislature and hoping to prevent Youngkin’s deputy Winsome Sears from succeeding him in November, Williams said the crisis is emblematic of Democrats’ "larger failure… in Virginia, where promises of progress and equity often ring hollow when the real work of maintaining essential services is neglected."
Richmond businessowner Jimmy Keady echoed Williams, telling Fox News Digital the crisis isn’t just a failure of infrastructure but of past city leadership:
"For nearly 48 hours, businesses have forced to close. Residents were left without clean water, and hourly workers lost wages," Keady said.
"The political implications are just as severe," added Keady, who is also a political consultant.
He noted Virginia’s legislature is only in session for a few months, and referenced how lawmakers must explicitly pass resolutions to extend business beyond a term’s end date.
"By losing nearly 11% of this short session, Virginia lawmakers are losing valuable time to pass legislation that will address growing problems throughout our commonwealth, such as economic growth, rising medical costs, and — sure enough — aging infrastructure."
Richmond’s water supply is primarily sourced by the James River.
Fox News Digital reached out to Stoney's campaign and House Speaker Don Scott Jr., D-Portsmouth. Avula could not be reached.
In remarks late Wednesday, Youngkin praised public and private partners around the capital region that have helped residents deal with the lack of water, from Avula to companies like Amazon and Publix.
"The collaboration from the surrounding counties with the city of Richmond and the state resources has been truly inspiring. The counties of Hanover, Henrico and Chesterfield not only brought to bear all their expertise in emergency management, but their resources."
"They all mobilized fire-pump trucks in order to make sure that if there was a fire emergency and there was no water available in the city, that in fact the city could react really quickly to those urgencies."
Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.
He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.
Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.
Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/va-govt-hospitals-residents-hit-colossal-water-plant-failure