Tropical Storm Helene recovery updates – Nov. 18

Press release from the City of Asheville:

Boil Water Notice Lifted

The City of Asheville has lifted the Boil Water Notice for all water customers as of 11 a.m. today, November 18.

Water Resources lab staff finished sampling the distribution system early Sunday afternoon, and results have confirmed that the water supply is free from contaminants.

Turbidity at North Fork Reservoir measured 14.5 as of its last reading. The private contractor for the Army Corps of Engineers continues constructing its water pre-treatment system as planned. Materials and equipment are arriving daily. Nothing has changed with the timeline for completion, which is late November/early December.

Customers may resume normal usage of the water system. It is no longer necessary to use bottled water for consumption, although water distribution and services provided at Community Care Stations at listed locations will continue until further notice.

While an increase in demand is expected, Water Resources is asking customers to temporarily avoid large-volume activities like filling bathtubs, watering landscaping, filling swimming pools and taking abnormally long showers. Otherwise, normal usage for consumption (drinking and cooking), hygiene (bathing and handwashing) and dishwashing may resume. Appliances with filters, such as icemakers and water heaters that have been turned off, can be turned back on. Please refer to manufacturer’s instructions on restarting those appliances if they have been inactive for an extended period.

Lead exposure concerns

The City of Asheville is confident there is no detectable level of lead in its source water. Plumbing in structures built before 1988 have increased potential to be a source of lead exposure if water sits undisturbed in plumbing. For this reason, customers in structures built before 1988 are advised to flush their system for 30 seconds to two minutes before consumption on a daily basis. The City of Asheville has received more than 2,000 requests from customers for kits to test their plumbing for the presence of lead. Participation in the City’s Lead Awareness Program usually receives about 5 requests for test kits per month. The data from this sampling will prove to be invaluable moving forward.

The lifting of the Boil Water Notice is an incredible milestone in storm recovery. It took an extraordinary effort to get to this day and the City of Asheville thanks the community for being patient during this disruption in service. Whether it was temporarily turning off the water supply to water heaters, flushing pipes, or enduring multiple Boil Water Notice AVL Alerts, community participation made a difference in getting the water system back online. The Water Resources team was supported by a number of City departments, partners from other water utilities, FEMA, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers, without whom this would not have been possible.

See updates from the City of Asheville on water service at the Buncombe County press briefing on November 18 on Youtube.

Debris Removal 

The City of Asheville storm debris collection contractor continues to rotate throughout the city, focusing on collecting in areas with high concentrations of storm debris. As of end of day November 16, debris contractors had collected 88,934.5 cubic yards of storm debris. This is equal to about 40 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

While work is focused on public right of way cleanup, Buncombe County property owners (including properties in the City of Asheville) who were impacted by Hurricane Helene and do not have debris removal insurance may apply to have qualified disaster debris removed from their property at no cost through the Private Property Debris Removal (PPDR) Program. The program kicks off on November 19 and also covers the demolition of eligible unsafe structures.

Today, November 18, the City’s contractor has 30 storm debris removal trucks running. The zones will be as follows:

• 1 grapple/trailer in the (Zone 1 West Asheville)

• 1 grapple/trailer in the (Zone 2 West Asheville north of Haywood Rd)

• 7 grapples/trailers in the (Zone 3 Downtown)

• 7 grapples/trailers in the (Zones 4 & 5 North and Northeast)

• 6 grapples/trailers in the (Zones 6 East Asheville)

• 8 grapples/trailers in the (Zones 7 & 8 Southeast and South)

Debris collection will continue across the city, including in city-owned parks, until all storm debris in the right-of-way and on public property has been collected.

 

Operational Framework – Recovery Support Group Update at City Council Briefing

The City has put in place an organizational structure to maximize recovery response. The support group areas of this operational framework are:

• Housing

• Storm Debris

• Economic Recovery

• Water Recovery

• Infrastructure

• Arts & Cultural Resources

• And functional support which includes cost recovery, community capacity building, administrative support, data and communication.

Tomorrow, November 19, at 9 a.m., there will be a virtual City Council Recovery Update Briefing where staff will share information on key progress made by many of our Recovery Support Groups to-date. The briefing will be streamed and available on the City’s YouTube Channel.