08/07/2026
🌊 LEWIS COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT — RESPONDING, RECOVERING, PROTECTING 🌊
Since the July 21, 2026 flash flood, the Lewis County Health Department has been working tirelessly to help our community recover while keeping public health and safety at the forefront.
Our response has involved both our Environmental Health and Clinical Services teams, working alongside residents, businesses, schools, emergency responders, and community partners to address the immediate and ongoing needs created by the flooding.
📋 ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE
184 Food & Retail Food Establishment Inspection Visits
These numbers represent inspection visits—not simply 184 individual facilities. Many establishments required multiple visits to assess flood damage, verify cleanup and sanitation, evaluate water supplies, and confirm that corrective actions were completed before reopening.
If a permitted establishment affected by the flooding has been approved to reopen, it has been inspected by the Lewis County Health Department.
Our sanitarians have returned to facilities when necessary to verify that cleaning, repairs, water safety, food safety, sanitation, and other public health requirements have been addressed before allowing operations to resume.
💧 PRIVATE WATER WELL SYSTEM TESTING
43 private water system samples collected
Testing following the flood revealed that approximately 74% of the private wells tested were not potable at the time of testing.
This demonstrates the importance of testing private water supplies following flooding. Floodwaters can introduce bacteria and other contaminants into wells, even when water appears clear and normal.
Providing this service free of charge helped remove a financial barrier for residents during an already difficult time and allowed homeowners to make informed decisions about the safety of their water.
Our Environmental Health staff have also conducted numerous inspections and assessments of:
🏕️ Campgrounds
🏘️ Manufactured Home Parks
👶 Daycares
🏊 Recreational Water Facilities
🏨 Lodging Facilities
🏫 Schools
…and other permitted facilities impacted by the flooding.
💉 CLINICAL SERVICES — BRINGING VACCINES TO THE COMMUNITY
Our Clinical Services staff have gone above and beyond to make sure residents could access needed vaccinations following the flood.
To reach residents where they were, our team provided:
💉 Drive-through vaccination clinics
🕐 Extended office hours
🏠 Door-to-door outreach and vaccination services
🚙 Mobile outreach using nonconventional vehicles, including side-by-sides
Because of extensive flood debris, damaged roads, and difficult travel conditions, our clinical staff used whatever safe means necessary to reach residents who needed vaccinations but could not easily access traditional healthcare settings.
MORE THAN 2,000 VACCINATIONS ADMINISTERED
To date, more than 2,000 vaccinations have been administered as part of our ongoing response.
This is what public health looks like in action—meeting people where they are, removing barriers, and bringing services directly to the community when traditional methods are not possible.
Providing vaccinations free of charge allowed residents to receive important preventive healthcare without adding another financial burden during the recovery process.
💙 OUR COMMUNITY'S COMMITMENT
We want to recognize the incredible commitment of our Lewis County business owners, operators, employees, families, and residents.
Many businesses faced devastating damage, lost equipment, extensive cleanup, interrupted utilities, and significant financial challenges. Yet they continued working to clean, repair, disinfect, replace damaged materials, and meet public health requirements so they could safely serve their customers and community.
Their commitment has not gone unnoticed.
Our commitment as a Health Department has been equally clear:
Respond quickly.
Inspect thoroughly.
Educate and assist.
Remove barriers.
Protect public health.
Our Environmental Health and Clinical Services teams have worked long hours, adapted to changing conditions, and found unconventional solutions to reach the people and facilities that needed us most.
We are incredibly proud of our staff and grateful for the cooperation of the businesses, residents, schools, childcare providers, campground operators, lodging facilities, and community partners who have worked alongside us throughout this recovery.
LEWIS COUNTY IS RESILIENT.
We will continue working alongside our community until recovery is complete—because getting Lewis County back open is important, but getting Lewis County safely back open is our priority.
💙 Lewis County Health Department
Protecting Public Health. Supporting Our Community. Helping Lewis County Recover.
