Some city employees worked 17 days in a row since the January 6 emergency, and other employees worked 21 consecutive days without a day

Richmond’s recent water crisis left residents scrambling for drinkable water for days after a winter storm knocked out power at the water treatment plant, triggering a backup system failure and major flooding.

A 10-page report from Virginia health officials to Richmond on Thursday can be summed up with one scathing sentence: "The water crisis should never have happened and was completely avoidable." Why it matters: It's the first time the Virginia Department of Health has officially said the city's preparation was so insufficient it may have violated state law and regulations.