Asheville Reporter

The City of Asheville is intensifying its efforts to meet the rising demand for lead and copper testing in the wake of Tropical Storm Helene. The city's Water Resources Department is urging residents, especially those with homes built before 1988, to participate in a free drinking water testing program. This initiative targets households with pregnant or nursing individuals and children under six years old.

As of December 9, over 6,600 requests for lead testing have been received by the city. To manage this demand, the Water Resources Department is expanding its testing capacity by collaborating with additional state-certified laboratories in North Carolina. While the standard turnaround time for test results is usually two to three weeks, current estimates suggest a processing period of four to six weeks due to increased demand.

Priority testing is being conducted at schools and childcare facilities, which serve vulnerable populations like children under six and are spread across the water system. This helps provide insight into the overall health of the system. Homes included in the city's compliance testing pool are also prioritized; these were last tested in July 2024, allowing for comparisons before and after system restoration.

These targeted efforts aim to ensure optimal corrosion control within the water system. Results from priority tests will be publicly available on Asheville's Water Services Recovery page. Initial results from customer-requested tests show encouraging signs: out of 159 samples taken from private homes in November, nine had detectable lead levels, but only three matched or exceeded the EPA's action level on first draw. Importantly, after flushing taps for 30 seconds, no samples showed detectable lead levels.

To enhance accessibility to testing kits, the Water Resources Department is collaborating with Asheville Fire Department (AFD) to set up pick-up and drop-off sites for test kits. Details on locations and operating hours will be announced soon.

In addition to water quality concerns, drone footage from Asheville Police Department’s drone team has revealed significant damage caused by Tropical Storm Helene to the North Fork watershed. The footage shows thousands of uprooted trees, numerous landslides, and substantial topographical changes in large areas of the watershed. This information will guide future restoration work within this critical area.

For further details on water recovery efforts, residents can visit Asheville’s Water Services Recovery page.