Richmond, Virginia’s Pro-DEI Water Manager Resigns After Residents Left Without Water

The public utilities manager of Richmond, Virginia, a proponent of the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) agenda, resigned after the city endured a crisis that left many of the city’s residents without water for days.

April Bingham resigned from her position as director of the Department of Public Utilities this week after residents of Virginia’s capital city were left without water for days following a snow storm. The Daily Wire reported last week that Bingham, who is not an engineer, served as the member of a committee of an organization that works to “ingrain DEI as a cultural norm” as Richmond’s water infrastructure fell into disrepair.

Richmond Mayor Danny Avula said that her resignation was “amicable” and voluntary. “It came on the heels of a pretty intense week, as we have all been responding to this crisis, thinking about what is the path forward, what does the water plant need,” Avula stated.

The city also announced that Anthony “Scott” Morris, a professional engineer and the current director of water at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, would take over as the interim Director of Public Utilities.

His professional experience provides a stark contrast with that of Bingham’s — she was the only water manager in her area who did not have a background in engineering.

Bingham is the only public utilities manager in her area without engineering experience and was appointed by Democrat mayor after running the department’s customer service wing.

Now she’s unable to say if the failures identified by the EPA led to Richmond’s water crisis. pic.twitter.com/8DMVn3NR31

— Spencer Lindquist ???????? (@SpencerLndqst) January 10, 2025

Under Bingham, The city’s water infrastructure was cited by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), including insufficient maintenance, corroded pumps, cracked filters, and outdated emergency response plans. Bingham refused to say whether or not the issues identified by the EPA contributed to the water system’s failure, but Dwanye Roadcap, the head of the Virginia Office of Drinking Water, said that some regulations had apparently been ignored.

“I can cite some regulations where we’ve got noncompliance with the regulations. That’s part of the reason why we’re out there. It’s part of the reason we’ve got a boil water advisory. It’s part of the reason why there’s no water pressure or insufficient water pressure,” Roadcap said in the midst of the crisis. “One of the things that we’re looking into is why the fail-safe systems and the redundant systems didn’t work, because you shouldn’t have this kind of problem.”

While the water infrastructure fell into disrepair, Bingham served as a member of a committee of an organization that works to “ingrain DEI as a cultural norm,” a Daily Wire report found. Bingham is listed as an allyship and mentorship leader for the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee for the Virginia branch of the American Water Works Association (AWWA), a professional organization for water management officials.

The committee has hosted talks on “equitable decision making,” “building an inclusive work force,” and “advancing woman leaders through mentorship/allyship” while also promoting various different DEI resources.

Bingham, who earned a salary of $217,000 in 2023, was celebrated as “the first woman to serve in this critically important role” when she was first appointed by former Democrat Mayor Levar Stoney.