'They could have handled this better:' Asheville water loss brews uncertainty, frustration

Sarah Honosky, Asheville Citizen Times
·3 min read
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Asheville water outage map as of Jan. 3, 2023 at 12:30 p.m.
Asheville water outage map as of Jan. 3, 2023 at 12:30 p.m.

ASHEVILLE - As water outages continued to impact area residents Jan. 3 ― after more than a week ― Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer said the city is down to its "final piece" of the restoration, though large swaths of the city remain without water, and some people fear they are no closer to a return to normalcy.

Manheimer said "tremendous progress" was made filling the Candler Knob tank the night of Jan. 2, and even more residents should see water coming back online. The next push is to fill the tank impacting the Spivey Mountain area, which she anticipated will be the "last water-regaining area."

City spokesperson Kim Miller told the Citizen Times Jan. 3 that water pressure in the western service area continued to increase overnight and into the morning.

Previous coverage: Update: Boil water advisory lifted in southern Asheville; some areas still without service

Water loss:Almost 40K people were without water in Asheville area; service is returning

"This allows City of Asheville water department staff to begin refilling the last large storage tank in the Western Buncombe County service area. Water in the tank must reach acceptable levels before being directed into service area lines and into homes," she said.

"That's really good news," Miller added, though she was unable to provide a timeline for when residents may see water fully restored. Neither Miller or Manheimer was able to comment on the number of people impacted, though the city said Dec. 28 about 38,500 people were without water. Areas have since come back online.

City of Asheville water resources crews hook up a pump to hydrants in Roger Farmer Memorial Park at 71 Deaverview Road on Dec. 30, 2022.
City of Asheville water resources crews hook up a pump to hydrants in Roger Farmer Memorial Park at 71 Deaverview Road on Dec. 30, 2022.

Asheville residents were first widely informed of the crisis in a Dec. 26 news release, which warned that extremely low temperatures and high water demand were placing an "unusual strain" on the city system. The shortages started after a plant covering the south area stopped producing water Dec. 24. A Dec. 27 update said water disruptions could last up to two more days.

Now, nine days into the outages for some, residents worry about what comes next.

Taylor Taylor, lives off of New Leicester Highway, near the Ingles Market and Sonic Drive-In, and said she and her family are going on a week of intermittent to completely absent water.

Taylor, 28, was juggling her 4-year-old son throughout her Jan. 3 phone call with the Citizen Times. Their issues started Dec. 27, when low water pressure made it impossible to take showers or wash clothes. Water availability fluctuated the entire week she said ― sometimes a weak stream, sometimes nothing.

On Jan. 2, they were without water from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

"There's really nothing reliable to go off of," she said.

City of Asheville water resources crews work to address city water outages in Roger Farmer Memorial Park at 71 Deaverview Road on Dec. 30, 2022.
City of Asheville water resources crews work to address city water outages in Roger Farmer Memorial Park at 71 Deaverview Road on Dec. 30, 2022.

Making the situation more difficult, she said, has been a city reaction that has left much of the future a question mark: vague responses, intermittent service and no way of knowing when water will be back for good.

“I think that they definitely could have handled this better," she said.

Taylor woke up Jan. 3 to find water was back on with "semi-pressure." At a loss for how long the reprieve would last, she got out of bed at 5 a.m., and started rushing to do things that would have been commonplace a few weeks ago. She took a shower. She washed the dishes.

At 10:30 a.m. she still had water, and was "praying that it stays."

In the city's water outage map, as of 12:30 p.m. Jan 3, Taylor's area remains in the gray-striped area marked as "experiencing a current water service interruption." Her area is also still under a boil water advisory.

Manheimer said a hard push to get everyone's water service restored remains priority No. 1.

"But then the equally hard work begins of reviewing what happened and, as I keep saying, ensuring that it never happens again," she said.

Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email shonosky@citizentimes.com or message on Twitter at @slhonosky.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville water outage: Residents frustrated as some areas still out