“It is ridiculous that we all had to suffer because of their incompetence.”

“It is ridiculous that we all had to suffer because of their incompetence.”
“It’s unbelievable that the remedies recommended and accepted by the city are not given the highest priority!”
“It’s time for the city to consider the consequences of their decisions, check their priorities and do what’s right now.”
City staff had been informed of a “high probability” of a closed valve located on a main water line Jan. 10, 2022, nearly a year before the outage.
Together the projects would bring 281 units of affordable housing online.
Residential customers pay higher rates for water than do commercial or industrial water consumers — $4.77 and $4.20 per cubic foot for single-family and multi-family housing, respectively, compared to as little as $2.29 per cubic foot for large manufacturers. Several members of Council said that the discrepancy was troubling.
The new nine-member board will include two residential water customers, one commercial customer, one emergency response or disaster relief professional, two communications professionals and three experts on public water systems.
Asheville’s water may be restored, but the spigot of information from city officials is still clogged.
“Time to put a hiatus on new buildings and structures and talk to experts on what the infrastructure can handle.”
Asheville City Council will consider establishing an “independent review committee to analyze the events and circumstances leading up to, and throughout the duration of, the recent prolonged water outage.” The group would evaluate Asheville’s emergency response, identify infrastructure needs and recommend policy changes to make the city more resilient.
During the Jan. 3 meeting of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer fielded questions about the chain of events that left tens of thousands without water over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
Over the next few days, said Water Resources Director David Melton, customers may need to flush their water lines and hot water heaters to clear residual sediment. He said that city staff would work to make billing adjustments for customers who used additional water for this purpose.