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.