ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Seventy-two hours. That’s about how much longer officials think it will take to reconnect the bypass waterline at North Fork Reservoir.
The North Fork Reservoir, which supplies about 80 percent of the water in Asheville water system, sustained catastrophic damage in Hurricane Helene flooding. Crews are working now on a 36-inch bypass waterline, which was built to withstand a typical hurricane event after the flood of 2004.
Asheville Assistant City Manager Ben Woody said crew put a camera in the line over the weekend and found part of clogged with boulders. That section had to be removed and replaced.
“When we make these connections, we have to make sure that we’re connecting to a open pipe,” Woody said during an update Monday on flood damage.
Connecting that pipe will be a major milestone in the restoration of the water system, he said.
But that doesn’t mean you’ll have water then.
“Nothing more than that pipe. That is it. I just want to be clear on that,” Woody said. “That is a remarkable feat because if you saw the conditions that existed when they started, to rebuild that and in a matter of a little over a week, that is remarkable and amazing progress.”
While crews work on that waterline, water at the reservoir will have time to settle. Before the recent flooding, the water was pristine. But Woody said it now looks like”chocolate milk.”
Once the sediment in the water settles, the water can be filtered, pressurized and distributed.
Once the system is pressurized, crews will be able to check other lines for leaks and breaks.
“I will say today our restoration of water is still measured in weeks not days,” Woody said.
Once water restoration does begin, it will happen closest to the source of the water and it will spread out from there, Woody said.
“So the closest and the lowest elevation areas will likely receive water first and it builds from there,” he said. “It’s also important to note that restoration requires we have to make sure pressures are correct. We have to look for lines that may explode when we pressurize them. So, it is a systematic, methodical process to restore water.”