What: Demonstration for well and septic funding

When: Friday, April 12, 2024 at 6 p.m.

Where: George N. McMath Park;21062 Colonial Ave, Onley, VA 23418

Accomack County, Va.— Virginia Organizing members, concerned residents, and community allies will convene at George N. McMath Park this Friday at 6 p.m. to raise awareness about the well and septic issues on the Eastern Shore. They are calling on elected officials to reduce the cost and fix residential systems.

In 2019, the Accomack-Northampton Planning District Commission discovered that the Eastern Shore was 1000 housing units short of the minimum needed to house its residents. They further determined that one of the inhibitors to new housing development was the high cost of new wells and septic systems.

Virginia Organizing and community partners have worked for nearly six months to address this problem. The group says they have developed a plan to assess and aid those who can’t afford the high cost of a new septic system. 

“A local well and septic company installed a new septic system; however, it has been assessed that the indoor plumbing also required repair for the septic to operate properly,” said Myra Riley-Taylor, a leader in the Eastern Shore Chapter of Virginia Organizing, “so now the brand new system is only intermittently working.”

Another chapter leader, Dinita Warner, could not find an affordable way to fix her system.

“The quote to repair the septic system was the price of a brand new system. Ridiculous,” Warner said.

To interview a spokesperson for this event, please contact Justin Nick at 443-758-5971 or justinwnick@virginia-organizing.org.