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Helene: Seven unaccounted for or missing, 102 killed in North Carolina | North Carolina

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www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – 2024-11-12 10:08:00

SUMMARY: Seven people remain missing as recovery from Hurricane Helene continues in North Carolina. The storm, which made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 on Sept. 26, killed 231 people across seven states, with 102 fatalities in North Carolina. The deaths were primarily caused by drownings, landslides, and blunt force injuries. The storm dropped over 30 inches of rain, leading to extensive flooding and landslides. Power outages affected over 1 million people at its peak, with 312 still without power in Yancey County. The hurricane remains one of the deadliest in the Atlantic Basin in recent history.

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North Carolina, Arizona most decisive of the battlegrounds | North Carolina

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www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – 2024-11-13 19:17:00

SUMMARY: Donald Trump’s campaign in North Carolina resulted in a significant win, with 189,311 more votes over Kamala Harris and a 3.4% victory, securing the state’s 16 electoral votes. This marked his third consecutive win in a state that typically favors Republican nominees. Trump campaigned extensively across North Carolina, including in less populated areas. Despite a narrow polling lead of up to 1.2% before the election, he ultimately won the electoral college 312-226 and the popular vote 75.4 million to 72.2 million, outperforming expectations in other battleground states, including a close win in Wisconsin. He made 11 visits to North Carolina.

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Hudson reelected to key Republican chairmanship in House | North Carolina

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www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – 2024-11-13 18:07:00

SUMMARY: U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson has been re-elected as chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, making him the first North Carolinian to hold this position. Following the recent elections, Hudson expressed gratitude for the support from his colleagues and emphasized that the election served as a referendum on President Biden and Democratic policies. He believes that by focusing on issues like lowering prices and securing the border, Republicans can gain voter support by 2026. Hudson, who recently secured his seventh term, aims to leverage the committee’s resources to boost Republican candidates and strengthen party initiatives.

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March toward normal turbidity continues, as third coagulation treatment is underway for Asheville’s water • Asheville Watchdog

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avlwatchdog.org – JOHN BOYLE – 2024-11-13 15:28:00

A third round of in-reservoir turbidity treatment started Wednesday at the North Fork Reservoir, as a crucial measurement on the path toward potable water continues to drop.

Water Resources Department spokesperson Clay Chandler said at Wednesday’s daily Helene briefing that the turbidity measurement, Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTUs), stood at 14.8 in the morning. A week ago it stood at 18.

“So it’s still falling,” Chandler said.

The city is now filtering about 20 million gallons of water a day through North Fork, which provides 80 percent of Asheville’s drinking water, and another 3 million gallons daily through its Mills River treatment plant. That leaves the water department just 4 million gallons a day short of being able to pressurize the entire system. That’s the threshold for again providing potable water, which the city has not delivered since Sept. 27 when Helene washed out the main transmission lines and a backup line, and essentially turned North Fork upside down.

Besides the turbidity treatment, which involves an application of aluminum sulfate and caustic soda in the reservoir to foster coagulation and sinking of clay particles, the city is also moving forward on a partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to provide a portable filtration system that can handle high-turbidity water. While ideally the city needs the NTU level to hit 1.5 to 2.0 for optimum water production, the Corps’ system can handle higher NTU.

Regarding the Corps of Engineers “interim pretreatment system,” Chandler said, “the private contractor who will perform the work conducted a site visit Monday afternoon, and equipment and materials started arriving yesterday.”

visualization

The timeline for completion of that project remains the same — late November or early December. That depends on the weather, though.

The city has a two-pronged approach to returning to potable water service: continue reducing turbidity while increasing the amount of water that can be filtered, and installing the Army Corps technology to filter more turbid water.

Chandler has said previously that once the city is pushing enough potable water, it will have to flush the entire system and then repressurize it, which could take two and a half to three weeks. Asked if the city currently being able to push through more water than expected, the 20 million gallons per day, could shorten that flushing timetable, Chandler said, “Theoretically, that’s possible.

“But you know, that’s all going to depend on the back-end bacterial testing that we’ll do once that process starts,” Chandler said. “But theoretically, yes, it could speed it up, but that’s no guarantee.”

Potable water’s return still will likely come in early to mid-December. The water continues to clear, and Chandler said Wednesday that is in part because workers are now seeing much finer silt particles instead of the heavy, muddy material they encountered right after the storm, when North Fork turned completely brown.

The city remains under a boil water notice for all residents. The tap water the city is providing is acceptable for showering, flushing toilets and doing laundry, but residents should use bottled water for consumption. If you must use tap water for consumption, it has to be boiled for at least one minute.


Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. John Boyle has been covering Asheville and surrounding communities since the 20th century. You can reach him at (828) 337-0941, or via email at jboyle@avlwatchdog.org. The Watchdog’s local reporting during this crisis is made possible by donations from the community. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.

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