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Goshen Thanked For Helping Craigsville During Water Crisis
When the town of Craigsville suffered a serious break in a water line that feeds the town’s water system in March, it received assistance from a number of places, including the town of Goshen.
Earlier this month, Craigsville Mayor Richard Fox presented Goshen Town Council with a certificate of thanks from Craigsville for its assistance.
“We wanted to do something in appreciation of your help,” Fox told the council.
On Monday, March 4, a six-inch water line leading from the water plant to Craigsville’s water system, which supplies water to both the town and the Augusta Correctional Center, broke, causing water to spill into the ground.
“It took us a while to find [the leak] because the water didn’t come up to the surface,” Fox told The News-Gazette. “It was going down [into the ground].”
Fox attributes the break to shifts in the ground due to freezing and thawing as the weather shifted from winter to spring.
“The ground shifts all the time,” he said. “It was an act-of-God break.”
In a situation like this, Fox would usually call on the nearby community of Augusta Springs, but one of the pumps on its system had “burned up” and was in need of repair.
Fox then placed a call to Goshen Mayor Tom McCraw, who agreed to provide water to Craigsville until the crisis was resolved. A tanker truck from the Department of Corrections was used to transport water from Goshen to Craigsville to help with the crisis. Over three days, Goshen supplied approximately 155,000 gallons of water.
“We’re glad we were able to help you,” Mc-Craw told Fox as he accepted the certificate of appreciation, recalling when Goshen went through a similar water crisis in January of 2022. “It’s always good to have friends to help you,” he added.
In addition to the water from Goshen, the town also received donations of bottled water and gallons of drinking water from several places, including the Augusta County Sheriff’s Department and Food Lion and Martin’s in Staunton.
The leak was found and repaired by Wednesday, March 6, and the boil water order was lifted on Friday, March 8.
