Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies and the real answers:

Question: OK, was Helene a hurricane or a tropical storm? And which came first? Was it a tropical storm that grew into a hurricane, or a hurricane that diminished into a tropical storm? And why do we use both terms? Calling it a tropical storm somehow seems to downplay its severity.

My answer: I vote for referring to storms like this as “Tropical Menace” in the future.

Real answer: David Easterling, director of the National Climate Assessment Technical Support Unit at the National Centers for Environmental Information in Asheville, answered this one.

“Helene started in the western Caribbean Sea on Sept. 22, 2024, as an unnamed tropical depression with wind speeds below 39 mph,” Easterling said via email. “Once the storm became organized enough to produce sustained maximum wind speeds of 39 mph or greater it was classified as a Tropical Storm and given the name Helene from a predetermined list.”

As we well know, Helene wasn’t done, though. It got stronger and reached hurricane status — wind speeds of 74 mph or greater.

“As Hurricane Helene moved over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, it underwent rapid intensification to a Category 4 hurricane — wind speeds between 130-156 mph — before landfall,” Easterling said. “As it moved inland, away from its power source, the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, it began to lose strength, and once maximum sustained wind speeds dropped below 74 mph, it was reclassified to a Tropical Storm as it moved over central Georgia and then western North Carolina.”

While downgraded, Helene still clearly packed a punch when it hit our area Sept. 27.

“Even as a tropical storm, Helene produced devastating amounts of rainfall and winds, proving once again that wind speeds alone from a tropical cyclone don’t always indicate the destructive potential of such a storm, since more people die from drowning in the storm surge and flooding than from winds,” Easterling said.

Asheville Regional Airport recorded 14.19 inches of rain from Helene and the two days preceding the storm, according to the National Weather Service.

Question: It looks like Fletcher’s new pickleball courts and the tennis court sustained damage from Helene. How bad is it? It looks like mostly fencing damage. How long will it take to repair them and get the courts back open? How much will it cost?

My answer: Rest assured that no matter how severe the natural disaster, someone will ask about pickleball.

Real answer: Fletcher Town Manager Mark Biberdorf said via email the damage was indeed “mostly contained to the fencing.

“There appears to be some damage to the surface of the pickleball courts that we may be able to patch or repair in the short-term. It is going to take months to repair all of this, as we will have to bid out the repairs and carefully follow protocols for potential FEMA reimbursement.”

Biberdorf said that it’s hard to determine what that will cost but estimates it may be $40,000-plus.

“We will have a better idea as we get closer to bidding the project,” he said.

Question: I’m here with a question nobody seems to have asked yet: What about water towers?

Why don’t we have any? What would be the impediments to having one? They seem to be a more secure way to store and deliver clean water. I’m sure there are good answers for this, but I’m not sure what they are.

My answer: Great. Now people want me to supply good answers to these questions. So much work…

Real answer: When I brought this up at the Nov. 20 daily Helene briefing, Assistant City Manager Ben Woody noted that the city does have water storage tanks, but it does not have the types of water towers you often see in cities and towns — a large rounded tank sitting atop a tall pole. In cities that have them, water is pumped into the tower and then sent out to customers.

“Those cities are probably flat,” Woody said, pointing out one impediment to locating large water towers in Asheville — the mountains. “Generally, I think what we’re able to take advantage of with our storage tanks is just the naturally occurring elevation that we have here in Buncombe County.”

The city’s water system, as we’ve reported, is complex, with 54 unique pressure zones, 1,800 miles of lines and 37 water storage tanks.

The online publication “WaterWorld Magazine” had an article about water towers in December 2022 that noted, “In some hilly regions, a water tower isn’t needed. Instead, a water tank can be placed on the highest hill.”

Tanks at a high elevation serve the same purpose a tower would — using gravity to disperse the water.

The article also listed the pros and cons of water towers. On the plus side:

• “Water towers make it easy to maintain consistent pressure in a public water system, which is normally very difficult.
• Water towers provide a good reserve of water to cope with times of peak demand. 
• As long as the water tower is elevated enough, it should effectively distribute water with hydrostatic pressure, driven by gravity, alone. 
• Installing a water tower means that money doesn’t have to be spent on a water pumping system that’s powerful enough to keep up with peak demand.”

And these are the cons:

• “Even the best water tower can’t prevent a slight drop in water pressure during surges in demand. 
• Water can only flow to areas of lower elevation than the starting point (the water tower), so it may be limited in hilly regions.
• Water towers may affect the taste and smell of water, especially in the initial few months after installation. 
• Untreated water towers may collect a layer of bacteria and sludge. They need to be cleaned at least every three to five years.”

So it looks like water tanks, not towers, make the most sense around here.

Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Got a question? Send it to John Boyle at jboyle@avlwatchdog.org or 828-337-0941. His Answer Man columns appear each Tuesday and Friday. The Watchdog’s reporting 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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