Historic Augusta County spring purchased out of foreclosure by Augusta Water

Augusta Water, the brand name for the Augusta County Service Authority, has acquired Seawright Springs, the historic spring in the Mount Sidney area with a million-gallon-per-day capacity.

The service authority got Seawright Springs out of a foreclosure auction last month.

Its most recent owner, Flow Beverages, based in Canada, hasn’t been doing all that well. It was taken over by a group of its lenders last year.

Augusta Water now owns all three major Augusta County springs on the Interstate 81 corridor north of Staunton.

“Owning this spring strengthens our future plans in the Verona-Weyers Cave system, provides redundancy, and offers protection against the effects of future droughts,” said Phil Martin, executive director of Augusta Water.

“While the spring is not needed to meet current demand, and there are no current plans to develop the spring or property, this acquisition positions us very well to support future needs of residents from Verona to Mount Sidney and into Weyers Cave,” Martin said.