Construction scheduled
to begin this winter
The City of Asheville Water Resources Department, its consulting engineers, and the construction firm Phillips & Jordan will hold a Nov. 20 construction information session on the North Fork Dam Improvement Project. Residents who live in proximity to the North Fork (Burnett) Reservoir are especially encouraged to attend, to get the latest update on this project.
Attendees will get information on planned schedules and activities as construction begins to mobilize in the area. Details regarding blasting, traffic and safety will be discussed at this meeting.
This meeting is open to the public and all are welcome, so please join us at 6 p.m. Nov. 20 at the Black Mountain Library (Tyson Lounge), 105 N. Dougherty St., Black Mountain.
About the project
The North Fork Reservoir and Water Treatment Plant serve as the City of Asheville’s primary drinking water source, providing 70% of Asheville’s water. With so many people, businesses and industries dependent upon this critical natural resource, special care and proactive measures need to be taken to ensure our water source and infrastructure are protected.
Planned modifications at North Fork Reservoir include:
- Raising the dam by 4 feet;
- Improvements to the principal spillway and the addition of an auxiliary spillway;
- Modifications to the raw water piping through the dam and to the water treatment plant; and
- Earth buttressing to reinforce the main dam and saddle dam for seismic stability.
The bid for construction services was awarded in October 2017 to the contractor Phillips & Jordan and construction is set to begin this winter.
Once completed, the dam will be able to better withstand inflow from severe storm events, as well as add capacity to the reservoir.
We hope you can join us to learn more about this important project. For more information, please visit the North Fork Dam Improvement Project webpage on the City of Asheville website. To navigate to the webpage, visit ashevillenc.gov, then type “North Fork Dam” into the search bar at the top of the page.
Questions? Email the project team at NorthForkDam@ashevillenc.gov.