NOTE: An updated version of this story, including an interview with the mayor, is available here.

Richmond Mayor Danny Avula is bringing in a state water official to serve as the city’s new interim director of the Department of Public Utilities after former DPU Director April Bingham resigned Wednesday.

Bingham’s resignation comes after DPU has faced heavy scrutiny over last week’s failure at the city’s water treatment plant, which left the city without usable water for most of the week.

In a news release, Avula’s administration announced that Anthony “Scott” Morris — an engineer and U.S. Navy veteran who had been working as director of water at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality — will serve as the city’s interim DPU director.

“As someone with a history of working in local and state water service roles, including a previous tenure with the city of Richmond as a wastewater plant chief operator, I am excited to return to Richmond to lead the Department of Public Utilities,” Morris said in the release. “As the city continues to recover from the recent water service outage at the plant, I look forward to working with the team to support the delivery of essential utility services to Richmonders.”

Though it’s still not fully clear what caused the catastrophic series of events at the water plant and how it might have been avoided, Bingham has been under fire as a high-ranking city official with responsibility to ensure the plant is in good condition and prepared for emergencies.

The city’s news release did not specify whether Bingham resigned voluntarily or was asked to step down. Former Mayor Levar Stoney appointed Bingham as DPU director in 2021, emphasizing her background in customer service.

DEQ spokesperson Irina Calos said Morris had stepped down from his state agency role permanently to take the interim position.

"He has been an incredible asset to DEQ, and although we hate to see him leave, we are ecstatic that he will be working with the City of Richmond to address their longstanding infrastructure needs," she said.