Water Services Recovery Last updated or reviewed on October 8, 2024 When will water service be restored? We are currently unable to provide a timeline for water restoration. Tropical Storm Helene severely damaged the production and distribution system of the City of Asheville’s water system. Extensive repairs are required to treatment facilities, underground and aboveground water pipes, and to roads that have washed away. As repairs progress, water service will return to some areas before others, based solely on the level of damage to the system. When water service does return, a boil water advisory will be in effect. Update on Water System Repairs – October 8, 2024 The beginning of water restoration is contingent on two important things happening: 1) completion of North Fork’s 36-inch bypass line rebuild, which we hope to accomplish later this week, and 2) the ability to put water into the system. Pushing the sediment-filled water through our filters would damage them beyond repair, and set back the process. The City is working with the EPA on turbidity-reducing measures. Once water is able to leave the North Fork, city crews will have to fill tanks, repair pipe leaks, and remove air locks from the distribution system. Mills River treatment plant, which serves South Asheville, is operating at normal output. While most of the service area has been pressurized, there are still pockets that have not received water service. Water Resources maintenance staff is working to bring water to the entire service area as quickly as possible. A boil water advisory remains in effect for those whose water has returned. We are also asking customers with water service to conserve it as much as possible. Water restoration will occur slowly and incrementally. As we have said from the beginning, full operation of the system could potentially be weeks away. Update on Water System Repairs – October 7, 2024 Workers are making tremendous progress on waterline repairs. The North Fork 36-in water bypass is expected to be reconnected within the next 72 hours, though more work will be needed before residents receive water. The North Fork reservoir continues to be murky. Sediment levels must go down before the water is drawn. Environmental Protection Agency officials are on-site providing resources and technical assistance to treat the reservoir. Water cannot be delivered from reservoirs until distribution systems are repaired. The Mills River Water Plant is fully operational, and the system is fully pressurized. If you currently have water, Asheville water officials are asking you to please conserve. Contractors continue to make progress on large-scale repairs to primary transmission mains. The City’s contractors, TP Howard and Tennoca, are working with NCDOT and their contractors to complete critical repairs to the distribution system as damage is identified and materials are sourced as they arrive. Update on Water System Repairs – October 6, 2024 Materials, equipment & personnel are on the ground at all three water treatment plants. At North Fork, contractors are focusing on rebuilding the 36-inch bypass line that Helene destroyed. That line serves 80 percent of Asheville water customers, most of whom are north of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Complications from debris clogging what remains of the bypass line and then rainfall in the watershed after Helene arose on Friday and Saturday. While progress slowed, work continued. On Sunday morning, contractors were able to install new sections of the bypass line. Those complications are an illustration of the impossibility of providing an accurate timeline for service restoration. Full system operations are still potentially weeks away Damage assessments continue at William DeBruhl treatment plant in Bee Tree, after NCDOT crews cleared the road. Mills River plant, which serves South Asheville, is operating at near-maximum output. Customers who have maintained water service are likely to remain in service.. Customers whose service was disrupted should begin to regain it. It is important to note that a boil water advisory remains in effect for customers whose water service is returning. If you plan to use water for drinking, cooking, or any other form of ingestion (including brushing teeth), please boil it vigorously for a minimum of one minute beforehand. Water straight out of the tap is safe for bathing and washing dishes. As service returns, pressure may fluctuate and/or air may be present in water lines. This could cause initial flow out of the tap to be sporadic. Additionally, customers with water in South Asheville should employ conservation measures that will allow us to expand the service area as much as possible. Conserving water does not mean you should use no water — normal use like flushing toilets and short showers should not cause the system to lose pressure. Large volume activities like filling bathtubs, long showers, watering landscaping, filling swimming pools, and washing vehicles will drastically increase the likelihood of service disruption. Water Resources thanks our customers for their patience while we continue to make progress on rebuilding our catastrophically damaged water system. Impact of Hurricane Helene on Asheville Water System In the video below, City of Asheville Assistant City Manager Ben Woody leads a presentation at the October 4, 2024 Community Briefing. He discusses Hurricane Helene’s impact on the regional water system.
