Asheville officials talk about the restoration of the water system. Summary: it’s going to be a long time. There are three plants on the system and two of them are not only substantially damaged but the distribution pipes are destroyed in a patchwork of numerous locations, many of which will not be accessible until the roads and bridges are first repaired.
This will certainly mean that restoration is many weeks into months away.
Yesterday, I spoke to a work colleague of mine who lives in Asheville and was fortunate not to see heavy damage in her neighborhood - and her house is fine. They have power but no water and getting around to the various water distribution sites is challenging. She left on Tuesday with her two children to her parents’ house in Charlotte - her husband stayed behind, he’s a doctor at the hospital.
If this is the challenge for the largest city in the region, it can only be worse for the smaller towns and communities- except those that have a very local system they can repair.
https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-...s1-5138093/helene-asheville-nc-drinking-water