As transportation officials in Tennessee and North Carolina prepare to rebuild long stretches of heavily damaged interstates in remote and rugged areas of the Appalachian Mountains, local agencies are also working to restore water and sewer services to residents nearly a week after Hurricane Helene made landfall.
Helene’s impacts on water infrastructure began shortly after landfall in cities including Tampa and St. Petersburg, the latter of which reported seven sewage spills totaling more than 400,000 gallons of untreated sewage, according to city notifications on Sept. 27 and Sept. 29.
The Tampa Bay Times reported at least 10 spills from the Tampa system totaling 8.5 million gallons of sewage, with several smaller communities also reporting multiple other spills throughout the region, including in Hillsborough County, Florida, says Water Resources Director Lisa Rhea. the sewer system was up to 6 feet under water.
Tampa’s main sewage pumping station, the Krauss Pumping Station, was repaired on the afternoon of Sept. 27 and was back online, according to the city, while others continued to operate while the crews were making repairs.
Asheville Braces for extensive reconstruction
In Asheville, North Carolina, water treatment and distribution facilities have been severely damaged. Major water distribution pipes were washed away and access roads to the city’s water facilities are now impassable.
In an Oct. 3 Facebook post, Asheville City Councilwoman Sage Turner says the area’s sewer system, the Buncombe County Metropolitan Sewerage District (MSD), was working and continue to operate throughout the storm, but that restoration of water service is still weeks away. .
“It will take weeks to restore the water, not months,” he wrote. “Part of the water is already restored and a water plant is producing.”
All major lines at MSD are operating, Turner said in a separate post, citing MSD director Tom Hartye as saying that all essential employees have been working around the clock since Sept. 27, and while the plant had to resort to reserve energy, it remained operational. all the time In addition, 37 of the 40 pumping stations operate with reserve power. The remaining three were still underwater on 2 October.
Asheville, through its Department of Water Resources, operates three drinking water treatment plants, including one on Mills River near the Asheville Regional Airport, part of a rugged 47,400-acre watershed located primarily in the Pisgah National Forest. The Mills River facility is the only plant still operating as of Oct. 3, albeit at a reduced level.
The Asheville Citizen-Times reports that the storm dumped thousands of feet of 24 inches. and 36 inches. water mains and transmission lines at Asheville’s North Fork Water Treatment Plant in nearby Black Mountain.
Asheville Deputy City Manager Ben Wood said in the Oct. 2 paper that measurable progress is being made toward repairing the system and that a milestone had been reached at the Mills River plant that production begins to increase.
Other repairs to the system will require rebuilding access roads, and Wood described damage to water transmission lines as severe. Asheville operates more than 1,700 miles of distribution lines, according to the city.
“Tropical Storm Helene severely damaged the production and distribution system,” says an update on Asheville’s website. “Extensive repairs must be made to treatment facilities, underground and above-ground water pipes, and washed-out roads.”
Access roads to Asheville’s water facilities, like the one leading to its William DeBruhl water plant, are a major obstacle for crews working to restore water service to the area Photo courtesy City of Asheville via Facebook
It’s not possible to provide a precise time frame for restoring service, but it could take weeks, the city says, noting that the repair process is underway with critical materials arriving Oct. 1 at two of the plants system treatment.
Mike Holcombe, former director of Asheville’s water system, told NPR that the bypass lines used as backup in case of outages were also removed, noting that the combination of the hilly topography and washed-out roads and access roads prevent heavy equipment from reaching the areas where it is located. necessary
The two Asheville water facilities that are out of service supply about 70 percent of the system’s customers, Holcombe explained, saying “it’s really a nightmare.”
The MSD facility, upgraded to a rating of 40 million gallons per day in the 1990s, was originally built in the 1960s and, as of a 2022 upgrade, was operating on just under 24 mgd.
Just south of Henderson County, several areas remain under boil water advisories, and one area is still without water service as of Oct. 3, according to the city of Hendersonville, which operates water and sewer for the county .
City crews were making progress in assessing flood damage to their water treatment plant, restoring it to operating condition after multiple line breaks and leaks caused by floodwaters .
FEMA funds on the way
President Joe Biden visited western North Carolina on Oct. 2, days after approving a major disaster declaration for Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, clearing the way for federal funds be allocated to individual expenses related to the disaster.
Biden announced 100% FEMA reimbursement for six months as he toured the affected areas by helicopter along with North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper on October 2.
FEMA has enough funds for now, but not enough to get through the hurricane season, the Associated Press reported on Oct. 2, citing information from Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who was not specific about the needs of the agency
A short-term government spending bill provided $20 million for FEMA’s relief fund as part of a deal to fund the government through Dec. 20. More than 150,000 households have registered for help with FEMA, the AP reports, though that number is expected to rise. quickly in the next few days.
Eight counties in Northeast Tennessee are named in their disaster declaration, which includes FEMA Public Assistance, Emergency Work Categories A and B, Individual Assistance, Hazard Mitigation Grant and direct federal assistance.
“The Expedited Declaration of Major Disasters is a crucial first step in providing survivors with essential resources,” Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) Director Patrick C. Sheehan said in a statement.
As of the evening of Oct. 2, wastewater treatment plants in the five hardest-hit East Tennessee counties were reporting impacts or problems due to flooding, with 19 drinking water facilities were reporting operational issues, including 15 that have boil water warnings.
Highway assessments and repairs continue
Despite a note on Google Maps showing a projected reopening date of September 2025 for Interstate 40 between North Carolina and Tennessee, North Carolina Department of Transportation spokesman David Uchiyama says it’s only a marker for position of the system and that a precise date has not yet been made. established
NCDOT has established a detour around the closed portions of Interstates 40 and 26, directing drivers from I-40 near Knoxville, north on Interstate 81 to Virginia, then south on the Interstate 77 to where it connects with I-40 in Statesville. The detour, as shown by NCDOT, is a nearly six-hour drive, according to Google Maps. Knoxville to Asheville on I-40 was about a two-hour drive before the closure.
Hundreds of roads remain closed in western North Carolina, where NCDOT’s traffic information page DriveNC.gov warns potential travelers of food, water, gas, electricity and communications shortages in the region.
On the Tennessee side, the state Department of Transportation has repaired and reopened 25 state routes, saying in an online update that “long-term closures will be in place throughout the region as many routes will require major repairs and for others, a total of rebuilding”.
