Water is flowing into bypass line at North Fork Reservoir

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Water is flowing into the 36-inch bypass waterline at the North Fork Reservoir.

Connecting that bypass line to the North Fork Water Treatment Plant was a major milestone in restoring service to the thousands left without water after devastating flooding knocked out the main distribution lines.

“Another piece of good news is last night our water resources staff was able to begin pressurizing and filling,” Asheville Assistant City Manager Ben Woody said during a briefing Friday.

Challenges ahead

The two main challenges for restoring service from the North Fork plant are the ability to filter and treat the murky water in the reservoir and filling and pressurizing the pipes in the distribution system.

“Our ability to remove sediment from the reservoir water is critical to making our filters effective in treating the water and putting it in the distribution system,” Woody explained.

After consulting with the Environmental Protection Agency, the city hired a private contractor to source and install curtains in the area of the reservoir closest to the treatment plant, Woody said.

“That will literally be a curtain that will be put in the reservoir, and that creates a 500-foot perimeter around the intake structure. That’s where the water goes into the plants” he said.

The curtain will help provide coagulation.

“That’s the stickiness of the clay particles that are floating,” Woody said.

That coagulation will help speed up the settling process for the sediment in the reservoir.

“Our goal is to get those curtains installed and begin treating the reservoir itself,” Woody said. “That’s a treatment that mirrors or is similar to what would ordinarily have been in the treatment plant. So we’re really kind of expanding this out into the reservoir. We are just trying everything we can to get this reservoir to begin to settle and not be as turbid as it currently is.”

But Woody said officials also know there’s a desperate need for water.

“Because we’re not able to fully utilize the treatment plant at this time because of the condition of the water because of the sediment, the decision has been made in consultation with the EPA to go ahead and pressurize the distribution system directly with reservoir water. So we are moving the reservoir water directly into the distribution system in lieu of putting it through the North Fork Water Treatment Plant,” Woody said. “While this water may contain sediment, it will be highly chlorinated to provide as much disinfection as possible.”

What that means for the North Fork Reservoir treatment area or distribution area is if you begin to get water you should still use bottled water for drinking, cooking or brushing your teeth.

What happens next

Before the rains from Tropical Storm Helene ravaged the water system, three lines came out of North Fork. Crews have repaired an emergency bypass line.

“We are confident that with the bypass line we can get water to the entire service area,” Woody said. “But please understand having three lines makes it happen a lot faster than having one. So we are still limited to that one bypass line to begin getting water into the distribution system.”

Lines and other pipes then branch off that bypass line.

“So the closer we get to Asheville, the more pipes we have to fill,” Woody said. “We can’t do this all at once. We have to restore areas incrementally one at a time.”

The water is introduced slowly in a controlled section of a primary water main.

“All these pipes have air in them. So we have to get the air out,” Woody said. “We have to flush the system. So what that looks like is we begin to put water into a main and the water spreads. We have to release air. We have to open hydrants to flush the water.”

As the system is pressurized, leaks may be found. Those will have to be repaired.

“We have our crews and our utility partners from across the state on standby to make these repairs as they’re discovered,” Woody said. “Once we complete an area, we will move to the next area and repeat the process.”

When will you get water?

Areas that are close to North Fork will receive water first. Areas that are the greatest distance from North Fork will receive water last.

Woody said a big challenge is going to be Swannanoa, which was particularly hard hit by flooding. Crews will be working there this weekend and into early next week.

“The first place we have to get back online is what I would call basically ground zero for the destruction of the water system. We believe that once we can get past Swannanoa it’ll become easier and faster to pressurize the system. But we’ve got a big weekend this weekend,” Woody said.

Despite the progress, officials are still reluctant to narrow down the timeline for when water service might be restored.

“It’s going to be whack-a-mole to where there is damage that we haven’t even seen yet because we can’t see the pipes,” Water Department Public Information Officer Clay Chandler said. “It’s just going to depend on what level of damage we’re dealing with. I think it’s a fair assessment to say that the timeline right now is fewer weeks than it was when we started.”