Asheville water woes: City leaders ask those with water to conserve as outages continue
Asheville leaders issued a disappointing update Friday regarding the widespread issues. David Melton
By WLOS Staff
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ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — Over one week after widespread water issues began in Asheville, many continue facing little to no water in their homes.
Starting Saturday, Dec. 31, the city of Asheville says residents who are not able to acquire drinking water themselves can call water resources customer service at 828-251-1122 to request delivery. The city asks that people call between 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Asheville leaders issued a disappointing update Friday regarding the widespread issues. David Melton, director of water resources, announced the city fell short of its previous restoration estimate.
“Unfortunately, we will not be able to make the goal of having full water service by the end of the day,” Melton said.
The update marked one week since the city said “extremely cold temperatures over many days created unusual strain at a water treatment facility which ultimately led to a halt in production. Additionally, multiple water line breaks on private and public property caused significant losses of water within the system.”
During a noon press conference Friday, officials said they couldn’t provide a timeframe for when water would be restored for all customers, just that they’re making progress and bringing in more equipment to speed up the process.
The city has provided a restoration map for customers to review the progress.
For those who have water, city leaders continue to ask that they conserve as much as possible, saying that will help speed up the process of restoring it to everyone.
“The City is asking customers who have water to continue conservation measures,” a social media post from the city said on Saturday. “When customers with water reduce use, that keeps more water in the system which keeps pressure up and helps us recharge the entire system faster.”
Boil water advisories remain in effect for service restoration areas. Even as water service returns, customers in impacted service areas are reminded they remain under a boil water advisory. Advisories will be lifted when water quality testing has confirmed no bacteria is present in the water. Customers will receive a message notifying them when the Boil Water Advisory has been lifted via Asheville Alert.
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