The City of Asheville has restored non-potable, heavily chlorinated water to about 95 percent of users, but its main source of water, North Fork Reservoir, remains stubbornly murky 26 days after Tropical Storm Helene.
At the Buncombe County daily storm briefing Monday, Asheville Water Resources Department spokesperson Clay Chandler shared a photo of a still very brown-looking North Fork Reservoir. The city treated the reservoir Wednesday and Thursday with minerals that were supposed to cause clay particles to sink, clearing the water near the surface.
That did not happen.
“And as you can see, the surface water has not cleared up very much at all, if any,” Chandler said. “What has happened — and which is almost completely opposite of what we expected to happen — is water at the deeper portions — 40 to 50 feet — have shown fairly significant improvement as far as clearing turbidity.”
Chandler said windy conditions on the two days of treatment last week roiled the surface waters, stirring up sediment. But water officials are not entirely sure why the lake remains so stubbornly brown, as it’s normally a “pristine” water source, and its feeder streams have cleared back up.
“There have been a lot of things that have happened in the last three and a half weeks that have defied logic,” Chandler said. “This is just the latest one. And again, we think that the windy conditions Wednesday and Thursday of last week, when that treatment was done, stirred up that surface water to the point that it was not going to clear up, treatment or not.”
Turbidity is measured in Nephelometric Turbidity Units, or NTUs, and the EPA requires filter water to be less than .30 NTU for consumption. At North Fork, normal filtered water is between .03 and .05 NTU, meaning it’s “typically exponentially cleaner than required,” Chandler said previously.
The raw water typically entering the lake has an NTU of 1 or less, but Monday turbidity readings at North Fork were hovering between 25 and 27, Chandler said. On Oct. 11, the water registered 30 NTU.
The city water system still has a system-wide boil water notice in place. The water is safe for showers, laundry and flushing commodes, but it is not safe to consume unless boiled, and even then, the city still recommends using bottled water for consumption.
Chandler said Monday that he still had no timeline on full restoration of water, “or at least an accurate one that we can provide as far as when that lake will clear up and we can treat the water and push it through our filters and all of that.”
Over the weekend, the city reached 95 percent of system restoration with non-potable water. People in the Eastmoor and Bee Tree areas in east Asheville got water back, but some areas, including including Town Mountain and Webb Cove, remain without it. / Credit: City of Asheville
“But we are certainly hopeful that the second round of treatment will sort of push the ball down the court as far as that reservoir clearing up,” Chandler said.
The city treated the water with a mix of aluminum sulfate and caustic soda. Workers have used a boat to dump tote bags full of chemicals into the reservoir in an effort to purify the water.
Aluminum sulfate is a “salt-ish” mineral the department uses to regularly treat the reservoir, as it makes clay particles coagulate and sink, leading to clearer water for filtering and treatment. Caustic soda helps with optimum pH levels for the coagulation to work best.
The city is awaiting arrival Thursday or Friday of a “curtain” system that can be installed at the reservoir to help with turbidity. The city will have to install and anchor the curtains in place.
Once in, they’ll create a 500-foot circle around the intake.
“And we are pretty confident that by a week from today, we will be doing a second round of that in-lake treatment process,” Chandler said.
The reservoir has intakes for water treatment at 21, 50 and 80 feet. North Fork serves 80 percent of Asheville’s 63,000 water customers.
Asked if the city has considered bringing in or installing heavier-duty filtration equipment designed for turbid water, Chandler said the technology does exist, but there are challenges.
“The problem that we’re going to run into at North Fork is that North Fork, on average, pushes 25 million gallons a day into our system, and mobile or portable treatment facilities are just unable to handle that volume,” he said.
Chandler said that over the weekend, the city reached 95 percent of system restoration with non-potable water. People in the Eastmoor and Bee Tree areas in east Asheville got water back.
But some areas remain without any water, including Town Mountain and Webb Cove Road, that “have proven to be particularly problematic,” Chandler said, noting that includes 65 to 70 homes.
“A three-inch line that serves that area got washed out by a landslide after the storm, and so we’ve had to do a little bit of coordinating with NCDOT as far as road repair before we can restore service there,” Chandler said. “Our contractors are going to work on a temporary solution that we hope will be in place Wednesday or Thursday. That should restore service to most of the Town Mountain, Webb Cove areas that currently do not have water.”
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. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.
www.thecentersquare.com – By David Beasley | The Center Square contributor – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-30 21:25:00
(The Center Square) – Authorization of sports agents to sign North Carolina’s collegiate athletes for “name, image, and likeness” contracts used in product endorsements is in legislation approved Wednesday by a committee of the state Senate.
Authorize NIL Agency Contracts, known also as Senate Bill 229, is headed to the Rules Committee after gaining favor in the Judiciary Committee. It would likely next get a full floor vote.
Last year the NCAA approved NIL contracts for players.
Sen. Amy S. Galey, R-Alamance
NCLeg.gov
“Athletes can benefit from NIL by endorsing products, signing sponsorship deals, engaging in commercial opportunities and monetizing their social media presence, among other avenues,” the NCAA says on its website. “The NCAA fully supports these opportunities for student-athletes across all three divisions.”
SB229 spells out the information that the agent’s contract with the athlete must include, and requires a warning to the athlete that they could lose their eligibility if they do not notify the school’s athletic director within 72 hours of signing the contract.
“Consult with your institution of higher education prior to entering into any NIL contract,” the says the warning that would be required by the legislation. “Entering into an NIL contract that conflicts with state law or your institution’s policies may have negative consequences such as loss of athletic eligibility. You may cancel this NIL agency contract with 14 days after signing it.”
The legislation also exempts the NIL contracts from being disclosed under the state’s Open Records Act when public universities review them. The state’s two ACC members from the UNC System, Carolina and N.C. State, requested the exemption.
“They are concerned about disclosure of the student-athlete contracts when private universities don’t have to disclose the student-athlete contracts,” Sen. Amy Galey, R-Alamance, told the committee. “I feel very strongly that a state university should not be put at a disadvantage at recruitment or in program management because they have disclosure requirements through state law.”
Duke and Wake Forest are the other ACC members, each a private institution.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
The article primarily reports on the legislative development regarding NIL (name, image, and likeness) contracts for collegiate athletes in North Carolina. It presents facts about the bill, committee actions, and includes statements from a state senator without using loaded or emotionally charged language. The piece neutrally covers the issue by explaining both the bill’s purpose and the concerns it addresses, such as eligibility warnings and disclosure exemptions. Overall, the article maintains a factual and informative tone without advocating for or against the legislation, reflecting a centrist, unbiased approach.
SUMMARY: Donald van der Vaart, a former North Carolina environmental secretary and climate skeptic, has been appointed to the North Carolina Utilities Commission by Republican Treasurer Brad Briner. Van der Vaart, who previously supported offshore drilling and fracking, would oversee the state’s transition to renewable energy while regulating utility services. His appointment, which requires approval from the state House and Senate, has drawn opposition from environmental groups. Critics argue that his views contradict clean energy progress. The appointment follows a controversial bill passed by the legislature, granting the treasurer appointment power to the commission.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-30 14:47:00
(The Center Square) – Called “crypto-friendly legislation” by the leader of the chamber, a proposal on digital assets on Wednesday afternoon passed the North Carolina House of Representatives.
Passage was 71-44 mostly along party lines.
The NC Digital Assets Investments Act, known also as House Bill 92, has investment requirements, caps and management, and clear definitions and standards aimed at making sure only qualified digital assets are included. House Speaker Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, said the state would potentially join more than a dozen others with “crypto-friendly legislation.”
With him in sponsorship are Reps. Stephen Ross, R-Alamance, Mark Brody, R-Union, and Mike Schietzelt, R-Wake.
Nationally last year, the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act – known as FIT21 – passed through the U.S. House in May and in September was parked in the Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.
Dan Spuller, cochairman of the North Carolina Blockchain Initiative, said the state has proven a leader on digital asset policy. That includes the Money Transmitters Act of 2016, the North Carolina Regulatory Sandbox Act of 2021, and last year’s No Centrl Bank Digital Currency Pmts to State. The latter was strongly opposed by Gov. Roy Cooper, so much so that passage votes of 109-4 in the House and 39-5 in the Senate slipped back to override votes, respectively, of 73-41 and 27-17.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
The article presents a factual report on the passage of the NC Digital Assets Investments Act, highlighting the legislative process, party-line votes, and related legislative measures. It does not adopt a clear ideological stance or frame the legislation in a way that suggests bias. Instead, it provides neutral information on the bill, its sponsors, and relevant background on state legislative activity in digital asset policy. The tone and language remain objective, focusing on legislative facts rather than promoting a particular viewpoint.
