ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Work to replace lead and galvanized water lines in the Shiloh community is beginning.
Asheville received $4 million in North Carolina Division of Water Infrastructure funds to help determine the water service line material on both sides of a meter — the utility- and customer-owned sections. The funding will allow the city to replace any lead or galvanized iron pipes on the public and private sides.
City officials said almost 600 properties in the Shiloh community will be inventoried to see if new water lines are needed.
“So far, approximately 20 properties have been identified as needing replacement out of 79 participating properties. That’s the first phase only. We will begin community outreach shortly (by the end of August) for the second phase,” Asheville Water Resources Department Public Information Officer Clay Chandler said.
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SHILOH WATER LINE PROJECT
On Tuesday, city leaders approved a $250,000 contract with engineering firm WK Dickson to help manage the project and the NCDWI funding requirements. Chandler said a separate contractor, who will be identified via a bid process, will perform the actual identification and replacement work.
“We expect that bid process to begin sometime this fall,” Chandler said.
Participation is optional, as far as private property.
“Homes that choose not to participate will not have the customer-owned side of the service line replaced. Water Resources will still perform an inventory on the utility-owned side and replace any galvanized or lead service lines we find,” Chandler said.
Why Shiloh?
According to the city’s website, the area was chosen because it meets the following criteria established by the city and the terms of the grant:
- Water mains that serve these areas were installed when lead and galvanized pipes were commonly used for service line material.
- Homes in the area were, for the most part, built between the 1930s and the 1960s.
- Shiloh is considered a historically disadvantaged area, per the city’s Climate Justice Map and the state of North Carolina’s Department of Water Infrastructure Map.
Chandler said the city hopes work will begin in late 2024 or early 2025.
“Since this is the first project like this we’ve done, we cannot provide an estimation on how long it will take. It depends primarily on customer participation and aligning contractor and customer schedules to perform the actual replacement,” Chandler said.