Running water is coming back to Buncombe after Helene’s floodwaters ripped municipal lines out of the ground, leaving thousands without the vital utility.
But many residents, businesses, and government operations have decided to play it safe and dig a well.
According to data obtained by Asheville Watchdog, 103 residents and businesses applied to drill wells across Buncombe from Oct. 1 to Oct. 14 — and 25 of those requests came in the past four days.
Churches, schools, an Ingles grocery store, a residential mental health facility, a hospital, senior living areas, an outdoor supply store, an auto shop, and homeowners were among those asking for permits to create a new source of water on their properties.
Though water services are slowly returning to city neighborhoods and unincorporated areas, there is still no official timeline for when all of Buncombe will have water restored, leading many to find another solution and a backup in case of another outage.
Helene knocked out water for so many homes that 90,000 to 100,000 people across the region were still without water on Oct. 13, according to Asheville Water Resources spokesman Clay Chandler.
It is the second environmental crisis to break Asheville’s water system in less than two years: Frozen pipes and equipment during the 2022-2023 holiday season left many in the city without water for 11 days.
Driven by Helene’s devastation and the recent memory of that other system failure, Buncombe is granting permits quickly: As of Monday, the county had granted 52 well-drilling permits, according to the data.
Data from Buncombe County shows the amount of well digging permits filed in 2024. // Watchdog graphic by Andrew R. Jones
Applicants include city and county schools. Asheville City Schools Superintendent Maggie Fehrman said last week the school system doesn’t want to wait for the city to restore water, and would begin installing wells on school campuses.
The home services website Angie’s List estimates the average cost to drill a well ranges from $25 to $65 per foot drilled, “although $25 to $35 per foot is a good guideline for most projects. Expect to pay more when digging in remote areas or through rocky, sloped, dry, or low-quality soil.”
Halfway through October, the number of well permit applications is nearly double than it was for the entire month of May, the previous busiest month of 2024, when there were 56.
Residents and organizations filed 386 well permit applications between Jan. 1 and Sept. 26 this year, according to the data.
Backups and quality control
The surge in demand is hitting the county’s permitting office and local drilling contractors.
“So much going on right now, it’s unreal,” said Jerry Fowler, owner of Ace Well & Pump Services in Leicester. “It was already backed up before this. Most of the drillers were four, five, or six months behind before this came out.”
But people and businesses are desperate for alternatives, Fowler said. “They’re wanting to get off the city so they won’t have to go through this again,” he said.
Others want greater control over the quality of their water. A resident on Delaware Avenue in Asheville, who did not want her name used for privacy reasons, said she was worried about contamination in city water.
“We have concerns about potential contamination for our water system,” said the resident, who did not yet have running city water Tuesday. She said she and her family are concerned about “what’s been leaking into the pipes, what’s going to remain residual in the pipes, you know, the thought that potentially well water could be safer in the long run. That’s our main concern.”
Asheville on Oct. 14 announced a boil water notice for all customers, explaining that water will be contaminated “due to impacts from Hurricane Helene including the potential for untreated water in the distribution system from pipe breaks and levels of turbidity that exceed Safe Drinking Water Act standards initially used to restore water pressure.”
Wells are also prone to contamination. Asheville is handing out well water testing kits and pointing to a Helene recovery dashboard by Northeastern University to help well owners take care of new or damaged systems.
FEMA to the rescue
In Candler, Pastor Steve Smith said Good News Baptist Church decided to drill a well for congregants. He filed for a permit Oct. 10 and was approved soon after.
“Any time the water’s disrupted here at the church, it would just be so much better for us if we had a well,” Smith said. “All of our people that are members of the church that have no water, we could provide water for them, and we just feel like it would be in the best interest of the church.”
A well drilled at Hall Fletcher Elementary school is covered up by a decorative stone. // Watchdog photo by Starr Sariego.
Church leadership had been considering a well for some time before Helene, Smith said.
“We actually had talked about this many times,” Smith said. “I guess this just gave us the motivation to quit talking about it and go ahead and do it.”
Mission Hospital in Asheville, which has been relying on water tanks and trucks, also decided to drill a well. So did other medical facilities in the area.
Leadership at Aston Park Health Center on Brevard Road, a nursing facility that houses 120 residents, began talking about digging a well immediately after the storm.
“We do, like everybody else does, a lot of disaster planning,” said Ted Goins, president of Lutheran Services of the Carolinas, of which Aston is a member. But, he said, no one imagined that any health care facility would be without water for this long, he said. “For us, water is just as vital as electricity, especially with 120 residents that need to go to the bathroom, that need all their needs met, and that’s their home.”
Goins applied for a permit on Oct. 10, according to the Buncombe data. Before that, Aston brought in a water truck.
But then the Federal Emergency Management Agency intervened.
“God bless FEMA,” Goins said. “They came in and helped us put in place an entire tank system that helped us run our entire building.”
That lessened but didn’t eliminate the need for a well. Aston still did not have running water when the drilling company arrived on campus Tuesday.
The facility might never need the well water, Goins said, but now they will be prepared just in case.
“I don’t know how anybody could have foreseen such a thing as this,” he said. “I mean, it’s like preparing for a meteor.”
Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Andrew R. Jones is a Watchdog investigative reporter. Email arjones@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/.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-03-28 12:56:00
(The Center Square) – Persistent dry and windy conditions, along with downed trees from Hurricane Helene six months ago, remain troublesome for wildfires in the Carolinas.
The Table Rock Fire, largest of several, has crossed from Pickens County in South Carolina to Transylvania County in North Carolina.
In an update from the South Carolina Forestry Commission on Thursday evening, the Tabe Rock fire grew significantly during the day and the Persimmon Ridge fire only modestly. The Table Rock fire is estimated 8,679 acres and the Persimmon Ridge fire 1,992 acres.
Three counties are home to four other significant size fires in the Tarheel State: Deep Woods and Black Cove in Polk County, Alarka in Swain County, and Rattlesnake Branch in Haywood County.
“Excessive storm debris and timber damage from Hurricane Helene has created many challenges for firefighting efforts,” a release from the North Carolina Forest Service said Friday morning. “One factor is the loss of tree canopy. More ground cover is receiving direct sunlight, accelerating the rate in which fuels dry out.”
The Black Cove fire that originated March 19 is 3,288 acres in size and 17% contained, the Forest Service says. It is approximately 2 miles northeast of Saluda in the Green River Gorge.
The Deep Woods fire, also a March 19 start, is 3,373 acres in size and 30% contained, the Forest Service says. It is about 5 miles northwest of Columbus in the Green River Gorge and the adjacent Holbert Cove community.
The Fish Hook fire that began March 20 is 199 acres in size and 95% contained, the Forest Service says. This fire is about 5 miles northwest of Mill Spring near Lake Adger.
Other fires of size are burning near Sylva and Leicester.
Burning bans are in effect throughout North and South Carolina.
SUMMARY: A wildfire in Western North Carolina has become the highest priority in the U.S. The Black Cove Complex fire near Saluda has burned over 6,500 acres, with over 500 firefighters working to contain it. Authorities warn residents in mountain communities, like Buncombe County, to prepare evacuation bags in case orders are issued. The fire has triggered statewide concerns, with varying levels of fire danger across the state. A statewide burn ban is in effect, and officials are hopeful that rain expected this weekend will help control the blaze. Aircraft are being used to drop water and fire retardant to assist firefighting efforts.
More firefighters are arriving in Western North Carolina now that the Fire Service says a fire burning there is now the highest priority in the U.S.
SUMMARY: In late March 1963, Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller *The Birds* premiered, and in honor of its anniversary, Scott Mason revisits Elm City’s own bird phenomenon. Every afternoon, flocks of hundreds of thousands of starlings and blackbirds gather, creating a stunning, synchronized spectacle. The birds swarm the same fields at the same time, a behavior observed for over 20 years. Local residents are captivated by the sight, though some remain curious about the birds’ nature. Experts believe the birds flock for food and protection. This “bird ballet” continues to awe those lucky enough to witness it each day.
It was around this time in March 1963 when the movie “The Birds” premiered. The Tar Heel Traveler revisits Elm City’s very own thrilling version of the birds.
