Asheville water: Drone images show full extent of Helene damage and why there’s a long road ahead

As Buncombe County and Asheville officials gave their Friday afternoon press update, the area’s water challenges remained the focus. And despite significant repairs being made to the systems, there remains a long road ahead.

Although there is no set timeline for when full water and power can be restored, officials said all staff are mobilized and the Buncombe County government will give twice daily updates for the indefinite future.

Buncombe County manager Avril Pinder said the Environmental Protection Agency is aware of potential issues with well water, and is assessing the potential safety and health issues that could arise. FEMA and other federal agencies have been present.

“Exercise an abundance of caution,” Pinder said. Well water should be boiled for a minimum of one minute or used for flushing toilets only, she added.

Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller was not present at the Friday afternoon briefing and there was no update on the number of deaths in the county, which last stood at 72 Thursday.

Damage to Asheville water lines

Ben Woody, assistant city manager of Asheville, gave a demonstration showing drone footage of the severe damaged water lines sustained after Helene.

North Fork Water treatment is the principal plant and can power the entire system though it’s typically responsible for only 80% of the clean water in Asheville.

Drone images show its lines completely destroyed.

Even backup water lines, installed 25 feet underground as a redundancy after damages in 2004, were broken as a result of Helene.

The primary water lines are completely gone, Woody said. Replacement lines are going to be buried deeper and armored with further protections to prevent damage in the future. “We have a lot of work to do on the distribution system and we still have to be able to treat the water,” he said.

The Mills River plant has gone from reduced capacity to fully functional and is at the correct pressure and capacity it needs with the caveat that it can only provide water to around 20% of the water system.

Drone footage showed crews deep in muddy water to access buried lines. Woody described the process as “grueling” work for those crews.

Asheville police work on missing persons cases

Deputy Chief Sean Aardema said the entire detectives department is working on locating missing people in Asheville since Helene swept through.

There have been over 300 total missing persons reports filed since Helene and now 270 are located alive and well. There are actively 75 missing persons, and local police are working with the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI in their efforts.

Individuals were found trapped in debris and taken to receive medical treatment.

Asheville PD’s drone team is working with rescue teams from multiple agencies along with private sector drone operators to augment the efforts.

Mission Hospital and VA receive outside water supply

Mission Hospital currently has stable power although it is without municipal water.

“We have been fully operational for a number of days,” president of Mission Health Greg Lowe said.

Using an outside source of water, Lowe said the hospital able to bring 40-50 tanker trucks of water to meet the 250,000 gallons water needed on a daily basis.

The hospital has also established markets at the hospital enabling employees to shop and provide basic goods for their families as well along with trucks providing gasoline enabling them to get to and from work.

Doctor Ashfaq Ahsanuddin, chief of staff VA healthcare system for Asheville, which operates multiple points of care around the Asheville area said they are able to provide limited care to veterans in the area. “We are under emergency generator and traditional power. We are able to accomplish limited surgical interventions on an emergency basis,” he said. The VA system has pushed non-vital care to virtual visits.

They are receiving over a dozen water deliveries a day and testing it to ensure that is is safe to provide care.

Where to find water and food in Buncombe and Asheville

The following water distribution sites are open until 7 p.m. or supplies run out. Please bring containers to refill water:

• William W. Estes Elementary School – 275 Overlook Road, Asheville

• Sand Hill Elementary – 154 Sand Hill School Road, Asheville (Please enter via Acton Circle)

• North Windy Ridge Intermediate School – 20 Doan Road, Weaverville

• Fairview Elementary School – 1355 Charlotte Highway, Fairview

• Black Mountain Ingles – 550 NC-9, Black Mountain

• Cane Middle Creek Middle – 570 Lower Brush Creek Road, Fletcher

• Leicester Elementary School – 31 Gilbert Road, Leicester

Food in the form of Meals Ready to Eat (MRE) and bottled water are available at two distribution sites:

• Asheville Middle School, 211 S. French Broad Avenue, Asheville,

• Lindwood Crump Shiloh Community Center, 121 Shiloh Road, Asheville

Free hot food and water be available Saturday beginning at 12:30 p.m. while supplies last. A tanker truck will be dispensing water to those bringing their own containers.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville water: Drone images show full extent of Helene damage