Asheville officials report improving water turbidity and long‑term Mills River expansion after Helene

Clay Chandler, public information officer for the City of Asheville Water Resources Department, gave an operational update on system recovery and planned improvements.

Chandler said turbidity at North Fork reservoir is about 0.5 — near pre‑Helene levels — and turbidity at Beaver Lake (referred to in the briefing as the treatment plant serving Beechry/Bridal area) is about 2.8, “not quite pre‑Helene, but pretty close.” He cautioned that the city remains vulnerable to moderate or severe weather events because of new sediment and debris in watersheds and that even moderate storms could raise turbidity beyond filter capacity.

Chandler described the role of DAF (dissolved air flotation) units installed by the Army Corps at North Fork and Beechry: at North Fork, 13 DAF units are splitting treatment demand with plant processes; at Beechry the DAF unit is producing the plant’s average daily output. He also described a multi‑phase Mills River expansion under construction: phase 2 will add a 1,000,000‑gallon clear well, increase off‑stream untreated storage to about 23,000,000 gallons, and mechanical upgrades that are expected to double Mills River output from about 7.5 million to roughly 15 million gallons per day after phases 2 and 3 are complete over approximately five to six years.

Chandler said increased Mills River capacity will provide greater resilience if other intakes go offline, noting the practical benefit during Helene when other sources were impaired. He said he would be available for questions after the briefing.