Code Red: How this team helped stop MSD’s record April 30 sewage spill

Many more millions of gallons of sewage might have flowed into the French Broad River on April 30, but the Metropolitan Sewerage District’s “code red” team — staffers Mark Ferris, Mike Ball, Bob Triplett, Grady Brooks — had not voluntarily plunged into the pool of raw sewage surrounding the pumps to find the missing closure plate and shut off the culprit valve. (Photos by Max Cooper)

MSD receives notice of violation for April 30 French Broad spill

A notice of violation has been issued to the Metropolitan Sewerage District of Buncombe County by the N.C. Division of Water Quality, pertaining to the April 30 spill of raw sewerage into the French Broad River. The overflow of almost 6 million gallons was the result of a pump accident during a construction operation at the plant, resulting in the shutdown of its main pumps.

Paying the piper

Passing a new budget resolution and agreeing to hire additional legal counsel were the two top items at the May 15 meeting of the board of the Metropolitan Sewerage District of Buncombe County. The preliminary budget for the public agency, totaling roughly $40 million, includes a 2.5 percent rate increase for domestic users, a $16.7 […]

RiverLink invites community to tour MSD wastewater treatment plant

After millions of gallons of raw sewage spilled into the French Broad River last week, RiverLink saw an educational opportunity surface. The nonprofit will host a tour of MSD’s wastewater treatment plant June 4 at 10 a.m. (Pictured: French Broad River Academy students visit the RiverLink office to learn about the urban water cycle, the focus of the upcoming tour. (Photo courtesy of RiverLink)

MSD board meeting mixes humor and politics

A seemingly straightforward meeting of the board of the Metropolitan Sewerage District of Buncombe County took two surprising turns on Wednesday afternoon. One led to a staff report on a private sewer-line failure that took more than two years to resolve. The other led to a vote on withdrawing a December proposal to the city of Asheville regarding the possible merger of water and sewer management — an action that was rejected. UPDATED THURSDAY, APRIL 18.

MSD board discusses potential lease of Asheville watershed property

While there was no formal action taken, the board of the Metropolitan Sewerage District has reviewed what were called “underlying assumptions” used by staff in studying the proposed merger of the Asheville water system with MSD’s operation. The option of leasing the approximately 20,000 acres of protected watershed, leaving ownership in the hands of the city, was one item on that list of eight.

Council holds “good-faith” water discussion with legislator­s

Only two legislators made it to the Asheville City Council discussion session Tuesday afternoon, held specifically to dialogue with the local delegation concerning the proposed merger of Asheville’s water system with the Buncombe County Metropolitan Sewerage District. But those present – council members and legislators – did manage to get a few things off their chests.