Asheville’s drinking water may come back on Nov. 20 after Helene’s destruction
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Asheville’s drinking water may come back on Nov. 20 after Helene’s destruction

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ASHEVILLE – More than a month and a half after being under a boil water advisory, City of Asheville staff and public officials are now indicating they may be able to lift the boil water advisory the week of Nov. 20.

If the advisory is lifted, it will be the first time residents will be able to drink directly from the taps since Tropical Storm Helene ravaged western North Carolina on Sept. 27, with historic floodwaters that knocked out the city’s water supply.

During the Nov. 15 Buncombe County press conference, Clay Chandler, spokesman for the city of Asheville Water Resources, said that “due to reduced turbidity levels in the North Fork Reservoir and our ability to push treated water into the system, we have been able to feed an adequate amount of filtered water into the distribution system without mixing it with raw water.”

Because the department has been using only filtered water for “almost a week,” Asheville’s water system has likely been “waiting,” Chandler said, with treated water replacing raw water. At that point, they will begin the process of sampling the water, using a plan developed in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.

More: Lead found in water at 7 Asheville-area elementary schools: What we know

If the sampling plan shows positive results, the city will be able to determine if it is possible to lift the boil water advisory because Helene is seriously injured North Fork Water Treatment Plant.

“That sampling process should be completed by late Monday (Nov. 18) and those bacterial samples have an incubation time of between 18 and 24 hours,” Chandler said. “So, by Tuesday afternoon, evening, next week, we should have a pretty good idea of ​​what our distribution system is like and whether we’re going to be able to lift the boil water advisory.”

Previously, a city council member and Chandler indicated that drinking water would be restored in mid-December.

“Lifting the boil water notice will allow residents to resume normal domestic water use and for businesses to operate without restrictions,” Chandler continued.

“There is still a small chance that turbidity will increase due to unforeseen events such as line breaks, weather events or, heaven forbid, another natural disaster,” Chandler said. “If that happens, we may re-impose a boil water advisory, but at this point our best estimate is that this will not occur.”

This story will be updated.

More: Asheville’s North Fork Water Treatment Plant; What happened to the “pristine” reservoir?

More: Asheville City Council Approves Post-Helene Cleanup and Repair Expenses

Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Do you have a tip? Email him at [email protected]. Please consider supporting this type of journalism with a subscription to Citizen Times.

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