Asheville residents could have drinkable water by next week, nearly two months after the city’s primary water system was catastrophically damaged by Tropical Storm Helene.

The system is on the verge of being fully restored to drinkable water, possibly as early as Nov. 20, Asheville Water Resources spokesperson Clay Chandler said at Friday’s Buncombe County briefing.  

The possibility of drinkable water being restored by Wednesday next week speeds up the timeline by nearly a month. Water Resources estimated earlier in November that the boil water notice could be lifted by mid-December.

“The use of treated water, combined with customer usage, has given us data that we feel is sufficient to reach the conclusion that the system has, for the most part, turned over, and the vast majority of water has been replaced with treated water,” Chandler said. 

While he did not say this timeline was a guarantee, Chandler did say the outlook is positive.

“We are at the point that we can begin the sampling process to potentially lift the boil water notice,” Chandler said, noting the city is working closely with the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality to sample the water 40 times a day.

“We’ll have a pretty good idea Tuesday night after those samples,” Chandler said, referring to ongoing bacterial testing.

Tropical Storm Helene slammed the region Sept. 27, knocking out the city’s water supply at the North Fork reservoir, which provides 80 percent of the city’s drinking water. The city restored non-potable water to nearly all of the system by mid-October, but stubborn turbidity, or murkiness, at North Fork has delayed restoration of potable water.

The announcement comes a day after Asheville said it had found lead in the water of seven area school systems. Asheville Water Resources suspended a standard treatment for lead mitigation for nearly three weeks because the city’s main reservoir’s sedimentation was too high.

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/.

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Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies and the real answers:

Question: As you know, many of us residents have experienced power outages as a result of the hurricane. Thankfully though, by this time a lot of us have power restored. Most recall the timeline where we were without power. Well, now the electric bills are rolling out for that period,  and some of us are clever enough to look at the energy usage for the days we were without power. Many are seeing some usage for the days we were without. I’ve heard that some people have tried calling Duke Energy about this but are getting no answers about it. While my bill is lower (probably because I was out of town mostly and had the hot water heater turned off for the month) I myself have seen some energy usage on the days the lines were down. I am sure that others would be curious to have this explained, as some are also reporting higher electric bills.

My answer: I believe my household won the award for “Jankiest generator in use post-Helene.” Apparently, ours badly needs a new carburetor and kept surging and petering out at night, leading one neighbor to tell me, “I was really pulling for your generator to make it last night. I was like, ‘Come on, buddy, you can do it!’” It’s not easy being cheap… 

Real answer: Duke Energy spokesperson Bill Norton said the utility continues to “closely monitor accounts for customers who experienced extended outages.” Like me, Duke has gotten a variety of questions about billing, so Norton addressed several common billing topics.

Here’s a rundown on each:

• Regarding auto-pay: “If customers are on auto-pay, payments will automatically draft on the due date that the customer signed up for,” Norton said. “Customers have the option to temporarily pause their automatic payment by contacting us at 800-777-9898 (Duke Energy Carolinas) or 800-452-2777 (Duke Energy Progress), or by logging into their account to unenroll from auto-pay. If a customer chooses to unenroll, they are encouraged to re-enroll when their situation allows, to avoid any future missed payments.”

• Regarding budget billing: “If customers are on Budget Billing, they will still be invoiced their set monthly amount regardless of energy use — just as they would in a mild-weather month when usage is low, or in a cold-weather month when their usage is high — because their Budget Billing is based on long-range average use,” Norton said. “Of course, any lack of energy use due to an outage of any length would be reflected at the end of the Budget Billing period, when we recalculate the next extended period of Budget Billing based on actual usage.”

• For AMI/smart meter customers: “For customers with an AMI/smart meter — which are all customers who have not opted out of a smart meter — bills reflect actual usage for the billing cycle if the meter is communicating properly,” Norton said.

“Customers who opted out of an AMI/smart meter may see estimated usage if we were unable to obtain a reading prior to invoicing,” Norton continued. “Once Duke Energy can obtain a reading from the meter, their next bill will be adjusted to reflect actual usage, so it evens out. For those who no longer need an AMI/smart meter exemption, transitioning to a smart meter remains an option and would eliminate this issue.”

If you have a situation that differs from these three scenarios, Norton encourages you to call the appropriate 800 number above.

Question: Here we are weeks after the storm and there are still power lines and other utility lines down around the area, even where power has been restored. Why didn’t the restoration crews clean up the downed lines when they were here? Who will be picking up these lines now? Will Duke pick up all of them, or are other utilities required to get their own lines? When will this happen?

My answer: I’m just happy someone finally picked up the overturned Dumpster near my neighborhood. Although it was great for giving directions – “Just hang a right at the overturned Dumpster, but before you get to the hot tub just sitting by the side of the road.”

Real answer: Norton said Duke Energy crews continue to inspect power lines and cleanup continues for the remaining power-related debris in Duke’s easement areas.

“Immediately after the storm, Duke Energy crews prioritized power restoration,” Norton said. “Hundreds of other crew members have been specifically tasked with cleanup, identifying and removing all remaining Duke Energy debris.”

The cleanup involves any broken poles, power lines, and transformers that weren’t removed during the initial restoration process.

“Please note that most of the wires yet to be addressed are telecommunications wires unrelated to power delivery — that equipment must be resolved by telecommunications providers,” Norton said.

As with most of this recovery, don’t expect lightning speed. 

“Given the widespread impacts of Helene on the electric grid and the thousands of impacted structures, this cleanup effort will continue for some time,” Norton said. “We appreciate our customers’ patience as we work to address all remaining power debris as rapidly as possible.”

Question: I’ve seen reports of Duke Power using helicopters to set poles in areas that are  inaccessible to equipment. Are the helicopters equipped with augers to bore holes for the poles, or are they dug with shovels?

My answer: I would pay good money for a helicopter to come install a new fence to replace my smashed one. I would also pay bad money. Honestly, I would just pay money of any kind so I don’t have to do it myself. Post hole diggers are a form of torture.

Real answer: I went back to Norton for this one, so he could complete the Answer Man hat trick today.

“When appropriate, Duke Energy uses helicopters as an innovative way to set utility poles after a storm in areas that are extremely challenging to access,” Norton said. “But the holes are created by crews on the ground, dug in various ways depending on the terrain, and the poles are then guided into the holes by the ground personnel.”

I’ve seen people posting about this on social media, and it is really cool to see.

“Helicopters essentially function as very versatile cranes, allowing us to lift and move heavy objects and materials such as poles across difficult-to-reach landscapes,” Norton said. “While their use is not common to move material, we sometimes utilize helicopters for storm restoration work to assess damage and conduct other activities because in many cases, doing so is safer and less expensive than cutting a new access road, for example, while giving us access to areas we may not be able to reach otherwise.”

The most important part is, “Critically, helicopters also allow us to restore power faster to impacted customers,” Norton said.

Question: I get four AVL water alerts daily, two in English, two in Spanish. I continue to read them and all the Watchdog communiques, and nowhere does any communication talk about the Mills River reservoir which provides water to South Asheville. I live in Arden, and we never lost water or pressure. Is our water potable? Is it safe for cooking? Once again I feel like the stepchild of Asheville. What is the story on south Asheville water? Since I keep getting the boil water notice, that’s what I do. I know I’m a lucky one, but this is so frustrating not to have any mention of Arden/South Asheville.

My answer: Hey, the city would be happy to send you more alerts every day, if that’s what you’re getting at.

Real answer: This does get a little complicated, and I’ve heard from several readers who are confused about the Mills River plant and their city water situation.

Here’s one reason this gets confusing: The City of Asheville has a water treatment plant (not a reservoir) on the Mills River in northern Henderson County. That facility is functioning fine now, producing about three million gallons a day for Asheville water users. 

Don’t confuse this facility with the City of Hendersonville’s water treatment plant, which is also on the Mills River but provides drinking water to City of Hendersonville customers, as well as to the Town of Fletcher (the actual incorporated town, which lies in northern Henderson County). Hendersonville’s water is potable and safe to drink, but Asheville’s is not.

I know this because I live in the Town of Fletcher. I get a water bill from the City of Hendersonville, and my water is potable. But again, Asheville’s water is not potable yet.

So if your water bill comes from the City of Asheville, do not drink the water or use it for cooking or toothbrushing (or, if you must use it, be sure to boil it for at least one minute before use).

Asheville Water Resources spokesperson Clay Chandler has explained on multiple occasions why the water in south Asheville and Arden is not potable yet, so I’ll recap.

In a nutshell, water is, well, fluid, and it can mix in various places throughout the system.

So even though you live down south, and your water is very likely coming from the City of Asheville’s Mills River treatment plant, where it is being filtered and treated, it could be mixing with City of Asheville water from North Fork Reservoir, where the water is being filtered and treated to a degree, but not enough to where it’s potable.

The upshot is the two water sources could be mixing, and you cannot assume that your water down south is suitable for consumption. So continue using bottled water for drinking and cooking, or boil it if you have no other option.

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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