When Hurricane Helene hit Asheville in September 2024, Water Resources Director David Melton watched his reservoir fill eight feet overnight and knew they were in trouble. Within hours, all three main transmission lines were gone, leaving 200,000 people without water for what would become a 53-day crisis. In this raw, unfiltered account, David shares the impossible decisions that kept a city alive – including the moment he told his staff, “The zombie apocalypse is here.”
Key Topics:
- Hurricane Helene’s impact on Asheville’s water infrastructure (September 2024)
- Emergency response and dam safety during extreme weather events
- The decision to send untreated lake water to residents
- Water treatment challenges: dealing with 300 NTU turbidity
- Community partnerships and contractor relationships during crisis
- Water/Wastewater Agency Response Networks (Water WARN)
- Long-term infrastructure planning and resilience
Timeline:
- September 27, 2024: Helene strikes, transmission lines fail
- 18 days: Time to restore bypass line and “flushing water”
- 52 days: Duration of boil water advisory
- Current status: Temporary systems in place, $250M permanent solution needed
Resources:
- Previous Helene episodes: The Great Flood of 1916 parallels & meteorological analysis with Hope Mizzell
- City of Asheville Water
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