After 54 days without potable water, City of Asheville water customers once again can consume water directly from their taps.

At the daily Helene briefing Monday, Asheville Water Resources Department spokesperson Clay Chandler announced that the city is lifting the boil water notice, as weekend test results found no levels of E coli or coliform contamination. The turbidity level of the water going out to customers is .1 on the Nephelometric Turbidity Units scale (NTUs), which is the level it stood before the Sept. 27 storm knocked the water system offline.

“Water Resources lab staff finished sampling the distribution system early Sunday morning,” Chandler said at the briefing. “Those samples incubated for 18 hours, and we got the results back this morning. They were all clear of E coli and coliform, which will allow water resources to lift the boil water notice today.”

Chandler said the city began “flushing” the system Oct. 30 to replace the partly untreated water with filtered, treated water, and that process is complete. For weeks, residents have had to use bottled water for drinking, cooking or other consumption.

“It is no longer advisable to use bottled water for consumption,” Chandler said. “Normal use for consumption and hygiene may resume.”

The city expects an increase in demand initially and is encouraging customers to “temporarily avoid large volume activities like filling bathtubs, watering landscaping, filling swimming pools and taking abnormally long showers,” Chandler said.

The city has worked extensively with the Army Corps of Engineers on its water system to determine what turbidity level its direct filtration system at its main reservoir, North Fork, can handle. Initially, city leaders said turbidity would have to be in the 1.5-2.0 NTU level for full filtration to occur, but with the Corps’ assistance they determined the system could process higher turbidity water.

The turbidity level Monday morning at North Fork stood at 14.5.

Chandler also acknowledged that last week’s announcement that lead was detected in seven local schools created an avalanche of lead testing requests from residents.

“We’ve had more than 2,000 customers request kits to test their plumbing for the presence of lead, and we’ve added a link at the top of the water recovery page that will allow you to submit a quick request for one of those kits,” Chandler said.

Customers with homes or businesses built before 1988 are more likely to see lead issues, as lead was used to solder pipes before that time. The city has resumed its anti-corrosion treatments of the water, and that typically prevents lead from leaching into the pipes, so the presence of lead in water is much more unlikely now.

Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. John Boyle has been covering Asheville and surrounding communities since the 20th century. You can reach him at (828) 337-0941, or via email at jboyle@avlwatchdog.org. The Watchdog’s local reporting during this crisis is made possible by donations from the community. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.

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