Nearly 100,000 Asheville residents may not have access to water for weeks, according to a press release shared by the city on Sunday afternoon.
“Extensive repairs are required to treatment facilities, underground and aboveground water pipes, and to roads that have washed away which are preventing water personnel from accessing parts of the system,” the city’s press release said.
“Although providing a precise timeline is impossible, it is important to note that restoring service to the full system could potentially take weeks.”
This news comes as Asheville residents are already facing severe water shortages. On Sunday morning, hundreds lined up at a Harris Teeter in North Asheville with hopes of purchasing water and other goods that are in short supply.
Mel Salla, a resident of the River Arts District neighborhood, said she arrived at 6 a.m. to make sure she could purchase water from the grocery store, which opened around 8 a.m. on Sunday morning.
Before the grocery store even opened, the line was astoundingly long – with hundreds of people winding through the store’s parking lot and along Merrimon Avenue. The grocery store allowed 10 people in at a time.
Officials from the City of Asheville and Buncombe County have not released a plan for distributing food or water to its residents yet. At a press conference this morning, Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder said that trucks of food and water are on their way, but have been stuck in transit.
At that conference, officials also shared that Weaverville is without power and water, but many roads in the town are now clear.
Residents with access to electricity are directed to vigorously boil water for at least one minute before any consumption.
