With all three water treatment facilities back online, the City of Asheville Water Department continues to restore service to the community. Field crews continued to work throughout the night to address leaks as facility staff monitor the system. Currently, all identified major leaks have been isolated or addressed. We understand the frustration customers are having, staff is working to restore full service to customers as soon as possible.
Through the efforts of the City of Asheville, the N.C. 2-1-1 system, and direct community engagement with community connectors, more than 300 community members in the most impacted areas have received drinkable water. Those efforts continue today, as we encourage community members to sign up for the N.C. 2-1-1 program. Community members can register at NC211.org. Deliveries will continue to take place today between 9 a.m to 7 p.m. This service is provided for those in greatest need or without access to transportation.
Getting everyone drinking water as soon as possible is our top priority.
- 175 – Customers have received drinking water deliveries through the 2-1-1 system.
- 157 – Customers have received drinking water deliveries identified from the climate justice map and neighborhood connectors.
The City of Asheville will continue to update the community through social media channels, the City website and AVL alerts as progress continues.
This is the latest information as of 9 a.m. Thursday, December 29.
Boil water advisories remain in place for some areas, those areas include:
Spivey / Candler
- West of Johnson School Blvd. to Dogwood Road.
- Smokey Park Hwy. to 19/23 through Candler.
Southern distribution area
- South of Swannanoa River Road to Airport Road.
- Fairview community to Highway 191/Brevard Road.
Even as water service returns, customers in impacted service areas are reminded they remain under a boil water advisory. Advisories will be lifted when water quality testing has confirmed no bacteria is present in the water. Customers will receive an AVL alert when the boil water advisory has been lifted.
The City encourages all community members to sign up for the Asheville Alert system (AVL alert). This is the City’s primary alert system designed to inform the community.
Water service restoration as of December 29, 9 a.m.
Water is moving through the system and filling storage tanks as quickly as possible. We anticipate that everyone will have water in 36 hours, some may have water sooner than others depending on their location in reference to the treatment facility. Primary lines need to be filled/restored first, which at times requires isolating secondary lines. The refilling process must occur slowly and strategically to ensure pumps and other components of the system are not damaged.
- Primary water main lines between Mills Gap Rd. to Airport Rd. have been refilled.
- Customers in this area will slowly start to see water service return and water pressure increase throughout the day and into tomorrow.
- North of Mills Gap Rd. should continue to see improvement in their service as the system continues to normalize.
- West Asheville’s main storage tank continues to refill. As the tank reaches optimal levels, services will be restored. This process will be taking place over the next 24-hours.
Next steps – what’s to come for the community
As the City’s water system normalizes and pressure stabilizes, customers may notice temporary changes to their restored service. Here are some of the brief changes they may experience:
- Intermittent service as the system normalizes.
- White frothy water
- Cloudy water
- Intermittent water from the spout
- Discolored water
Here are some steps to address the changes and help your service return to normal.
- Flush air out of lines by SLOWLY running your cold water
- When the water runs clear, it’s then safe to use your hot water
Customers will receive an AVL alert when the boil water advisory has been lifted.
What to do if you still need help?
The City of Asheville asks customers to contact the City if customers continue to have problems with or questions about their service. There are several ways to contact staff.
- Email egovutility@ashevillenc.gov
- Report issues using the Asheville App
- Call the customer service line at 828-251-1122. *Due to high call volumes, wait times will be longer than is typical for the customer service line.
Ongoing updates related to the water outage will be posted to the City website and on City social media.
When will Royal Pines have water. Since Monday we have been told within 24 hours and still not water!! Areas around us are restored to normal. We need water also!