Staunton and Augusta County residents and businesses continue to be under a boil water advisory, according to the latest updates from both localities.
In Augusta County, the advisory applies to the Bon Lea and Fox Hill areas. According to the county, the affected streets are Bon Lea Drive, Farmington Drive, Field Haven Place, Baldwin Lane, Bluebird Lane and Nature Trail Lane. The county hand-delivered notices to those affected after consulting with the Virginia Department of Health.
The advisory is also in effect for the Blackburn area and portions of Verona including the Augusta County Government Center. Automated text messages were sent to customers.
Some customers were upset with the county for not being more proactive in notifying residents quickly.
Lisa Krause, who lives in the Blackburn area, said she got a voicemail from the county just after 7 p.m. on Friday. The boil water notice went into effect at 4 p.m. for that area.
Krause said she has health issues and by the time she was notified, all of the water distribution sites were closed for the day.
“No one wants to get sick because they [Augusta County] are not organized enough to send out alerts in a timely manner,” said Krause. “Our health depends on it.”
She said most people do not call the area Blackburn, and that could have led to confusion even among those who saw the notice online.
“There were no maps for county residents to show which areas need to boil water, no fliers, no water distribution and some general information,” Krause said. “This is not good. How do we change this so my neighbors do not get sick the next time this happens? Not everyone is on Facebook or the internet.
“I would also like to commend Staunton City because they made it a priority to inform their residents. Augusta County not so much.”
The Augusta County boil water advisories will remain in effect until the Staunton advisory is lifted.
The City of Staunton will continue to operate water distribution sites Saturday and Sunday:
- Bessie Weller Elementary
- Staunton High School
- Gypsy Hill Park Gymnasium
All three locations will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Households will be limited to one case or two one-gallon jugs of water.
No Augusta County locations have been announced.
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Crystal Graham
