could it happen here?

Virginia Mayor reportedly directed employees to pump sewage into river, indictment claims 

could it happen here? could someone who works for the town pump sewage into the river? with or without the mayor's (or former mayor's) knowledge?

maybe it's already happened here.

FSSP NF Shenandoah River E. coli levels on Wednesday June 22 versus Thursday Jun 23 - FOSR - FOSR

Is this report reliable? I believe that it is. It's an independent source that is reporting test results. Why would any unbiased person believe this report to be unreliable? 

If you live, work or visit Strasburg, then you should find these photos extremely  disturbing. The E. coli level on Thursday 06.23.2022, 816.4 MPN CFUs per 100 mL at the NF Shenandoah River @ Strasburg Park Public Boat Landing, is more than 16 TIMES the previous day's reading (50.4). It's 3.5 TIMES the pre-October 2019 Virginia water quality standard for primary recreational use (235). One would expect a reading this high (816.4 MPN CFUs per 100mL) to occur only in an open sewer.

The intake for Strasburg's water supply and the outfall for its water treatment plant are less than a half mile upstream from where these samples were taken. 

the town owes its citizens an explanation. 

if it happened in Glen Lyn, then it can happen in strasburg. 

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PS Jay McKinley, strasburg's public works director, has an impressive resume. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jay-mckinley-b55a3266 In addition to his academic qualifications, Jay's resume states that he has been "Largely focused on the upgrading and repair of an aging water/wastewater/public works infrastructure" in strasburg for nearly 30 years. strasburg is fortunate to have him.

that notwithstanding, we will continue with many others in strasburg who drink bottled water. why? because of the fact that the e. coli level in the river near the boat ramp in town park on 6/23/22 was 816.4 MPN CFUs per 100 mL. 

We have similar qualifications, Jay. 

• the courses in water supply and wastewater management that I took in college were probably very similar to the courses that you took.
• I grew up in northern virginia in the 1950s. my wife and I worked and raised a family there.
• I was in high school when the beltway was being built.
• I remember when the public was advised not to swim in the potomac river because sewage from combined sewers was being dumped into the potomac during high rainfall events.
• I remember "mount trashmore"--fairfax county's landfill.
• I was involved in a project at blue plains that the engineering firm that I worked for at the time had.
• I served as a citizen representative on a committee that examined the viability of fairfax county's proposed solid waste recovery plant. I know that it's the closest plant to strasburg. I know that strasburg trash goes to the county's landfill and not to an energy recovery plant as was stated on the town's website.
• I've observed in the 6+ years that my wife and I have lived in strasburg how the town operates:
• the lack of transparency
• the lack of real-time communication with its citizens
• how when some citizens received abnormally high water bills that the town insists that the problem is theirs and not the town's. I also know that failure to have functioning air release valves at high points in water lines can cause air to get into a service line that results in an abnormally high water bill. 
• some time ago I followed the links on the town's website to get the yearly water quality report advertised on the town's website. when the link didn't provide the report in question, I contacted the roanoke engineering firm that was contracted to supply said reports. I didn't receive the report nor an explanation.
• there are many other examples of the town's lack of transparency in this blog.

So, Jay, excuse me if I'm skeptical about the safety of our water. with your qualifications and experience, I'm sure that you can understand that actual test results (816.4 MPN CFUs per 100 mL) hold great weight with those of us with STEM backgrounds. thank you for your service to the town.

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PPS  one thing is for sure. the town is big on cheerleading. but, when it comes to providing important public information in a timely manner, e.g., 

• dangerous algae blooms in the river
• an extraordinarily high e. coli reading
• abnormally high water bills 
• trespassing and vandalizing a private citizen's property
• the milk plant explosion
• a shotgun being fired from a boat on the river next to town park
• lack of safe access to and from town park for children, pedestrians and cyclists in the vicinity of madison heights
• lack of security on riverwalk
• lack of enforcement of leash and pet cleanup rules/laws
• comcast
• etc.

then "mum's the word" from the town. either citizens learn it from an outside source or they don't learn it at all. 

The town has an obligation to provide important public information in a timely manner to its citizens FIRST. The town seems to have a misguided belief that it's providing important public information to its citizens via facebook and/or the town's website. it ignores the fact that citizens aren't clairvoyant. how are citizens supposed to know that there's important public information on facebook or the town's website--unless they monitor facebook and the town's website 24/7? ABSURD! furthermore, some citizens don't have or want access to facebook. others have more important things to do (like jobs, paying bills, children, grandchildren, etc.) than searching facebook and the town's website 24/7 for important public information. 

one of the reasons that I started this blog, strasburg underground, is to provide important public information to strasburg's citizens--because the town isn't meeting its obligation to do so.

strasburg: by the numbers

Cost of Living in Strasburg, Virginia – 24/7 Wall St. 

in general, strasburg is "below average" in Virginia and in the US. "below average" is good in some categories--not so much in others.

looking at the "big picture", the thing that struck me is how different that the real strasburg is from what those in town hall make it to be. 

what surprises you? why?

Cost of Living - Free of Charge Creative Commons Green Highway sign image

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attribution: Nick Youngson

secrets--what you don't know CAN hurt you

after more than six years living in strasburg, I've come to the conclusion that the town deliberately keeps important public information from it's citizens. 

• did you know that a test of the e. coli level in the river (not far downstream from the intake to strasburg's water supply plant) near the boat ramp in town park on June 23, 2022 showed an astonishing 816.4 e. coli colony-forming units per milliliter. one would expect an extremely high reading like this to come only from an open sewer! Strasburg VA underground: how safe is strasburg's drinking water? 
• did you know that in january 2019 that a man fired a shotgun from a boat in the river next to town park? Strasburg VA underground: riverwalk safety and security: man fires a shotgun from a boat in the shenandoah river next to riverwalk 
• in 2020 town citizen Melissa Schleig attended a meeting of the town's recreation, parks and trails committee. she asked an important question: how can her children walk or ride their bikes safely from their house in madison heights to town park? do you know that the committee blew her off? Strasburg VA underground: Melissa Schleig revisited 
• do you know why that there's virtually no security on mile-long riverwalk? do you know why the inoperable "emergency phone" sign posts haven't been removed because the phones (presuming that they previously existed) have been removed? do you know that people who use the trail without their own personal cellphone are helpless in case of an emergency? do you know why leash and pet cleanup rules aren't enforced? do you know that some riverwalk users report that unleashed dogs have attacked and bitten people, the dogs' owners fled and the victims of the attacks had to get painful rabies shots?
• do you know who in the town finalized the agreement with comcast to provide its services to every citizen in the town without informing its citizens beforehand? Strasburg VA underground: SURPRISE! 
• do you know why the town insists that it isn't their fault that some citizens received extremely high water bills? Strasburg VA underground: water bills mystery 
• do you know why the town of strasburg hasn't joined the 21st century--communicating important public information "real-time" with its citizens rather than relying on the archaic and unreliable "spread-the-word-with-your-neighbors" method of not communicating important public information directly with citizens in a timely manner?
• do you know why the town of strasburg has secrets?

there are other examples of the town not providing important public information to its citizens. think about it. the only time that we hear important public information affecting the citizens of this town is when an outside news media source reports it. needless to say, outside media sources don't report all of the important public information that strasburg citizens need to know from the town.

what you don't know CAN hurt you.

we deserve better.

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attribution: Holding the nose | Charles Williams | Flickr

basic town services

basic town services:

• water that's safe to drink
• properly treated at the plant
• a distribution system that doesn't leak and is well maintained and serviceable
• air release valves--so that customers don't get charged for air as if it's water
• customer water meters where customers can compare readings on the meter with readings recorded on the bill
• water bills that include actual gallons used--no fictitious numbers. it's not complicated: gallons used x rate = $ due.
• wastewater 
• a wastewater collection system that doesn't leak, is well maintained and doesn't discharge odors into the air
• proper treatment at the plant before it's discharged into the river
• trash
• dependable weekly trash service that requires customers to put their trash out only once each week (as opposed to multiple times due to customers not being notified in a timely manner of schedule changes)
• roads, streets, sidewalks, street lighting
• a road, trails and sidewalk system that allows for safe access by motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians from their homes to town park and other locations in town
• properly maintained
• advance notice of construction and non-routine maintenance activities 
• town park & riverwalk
• properly maintained
• enforce pet waste cleanup and leash requirements
•  police
• a police department that is properly sized with due consideration that Shenandoah County (sheriff) and the Commonwealth of Virginia (state police) also have law enforcement responsibilities in strasburg
• taxes
• strasburg citizens pay town taxes, county taxes, state taxes and federal taxes. town taxes are more than enough to cover basic town services. but, basic services are not being fully provided. basic services come first. everything else (like the facade program, expanding town staff and space, marketing, etc.) comes second.
• important public information
• provide important public information to ALL citizens of the town in a timely manner
• as long as the town uses a flyer in the water bill (untimely), facebook (not everyone has facebook; not everyone who has FB accesses the town's FB page 24/7), the town website (not everyone has 24/7 access to the internet, those who have 24/7 access to the internet don't access the town's website 24/7 searching for important public information), and word-of-mouth (unreliable, untimely), then the town will NOT be meeting its obligation to provide ALL citizens with important public information in a timely manner. THE BURDEN TO PROVIDE IMPORTANT PUBLIC INFORMATION IS ON THE TOWN--NOT ON THE TOWN'S CITIZENS.

IT's NOT COMPLICATED.

SNAFU | The Public Domain Review | Flickr

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