About 100 people attended the Sept. 8 event — the first of its kind hosted by the Asheville Area Riverfront Redevelopment Commission — at New Belgium Brewing Co. The gathering was prompted by recent reports on the French Broad River’s economic importance and bacterial contamination.
![Manheimer at the River Improvement and Protection Summit](https://mountainx.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/BEAT3_Manheimer-330x248.jpg)