Central Shenandoah Health District

The Central Shenandoah Health District consists of 10 localities including the counties of Augusta, Bath, Highland, Rockbridge and Rockingham and the cities of Buena Vista, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Staunton and Waynesboro. This district includes 3,439 square miles and provides services for a population of approximately 260,000 citizens in the heart of the beautiful Shenandoah Valley, Virginia. The Environmental Health division provides services in many program areas including food sanitation, animal bite/rabies control, swimming pool sanitation, tourist establishment sanitation (TES), onsite sewage disposal, wells, water supplies, West Nile Virus (WNV) surveillance, environmental complaints, water sampling and monitoring, and lead poisoning prevention.

The staff of the environmental health section are somewhat specialized and may not perform job duties in all programs. Some staff have the food, TES, swimming pools and general environmental programs versus others being responsible for onsite sewage disposal, wells and water supply recommendations. All the staff have job duties in rabies, WNV, and environmental complaints. The staff consists of seventeen field Environmental Health Specialists, two supervisors (one supervises the food, rabies and general environmental programs and the other supervises the sewage disposal systems and well programs). Both supervisors give guidance and recommendations in the rabies, WNV and complaint programs. The district has one Environmental Health Manager. The district regulates and permits over 700 hundred various food establishments and has been receiving, evaluating and processing over 2,000 sewage disposal and well applications per year over the past ten years. Our local district website is:

On this website you can to view the most current inspections for all food establishments in the district that are permitted under the state food establishment regulations. Typically unannounced inspections of these establishments are conducted one to four times per year depending on the nature and extent of the food handling conducted within the establishment and the assessment of risk. Occasionally, as a result of unsatisfactory inspections or complaints from the public, more frequent follow-up inspections are conducted. Your questions, comments or concerns may be directed to the Environmental Health Specialists based in each local office having routine contact with the food establishments. You may also contact the District Environmental Health Supervisor for the food program at 540-332-7830 or by using the email link below.

If you have questions or comments, you can send an E-Mail to the Health District