Black Mountain officials: 'We're going to be pumping water, baby'

Town celebrates milestone in Helene recovery efforts

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
October 5, 2024

Black Mountain Town Manager Josh Harrold announced town hall would reopen for business on Oct. 7. Photo by Fred McCormick

A roar of applause and cheer erupted in Black Mountain Town Square, Oct. 4, as local official celebrated a milestone in ongoing Tropical Storm Helene recovery efforts.

“Guess what we’re going to be doing tomorrow,” Public Works Director Jamey Matthews said. “We’re going to be pumping water, baby!”

The moment marked the climax of a celebratory tone that emerged as the town held its final daily emergency meeting in the center of downtown. The gathering came as many town staff anticipated their first day off since emergency response began, more than a week ago.

Matthews, who offered the latest in a series of daily utility updates. Crews continue to make rapid progress on repairing the town’s damaged water system, according to the public works director.

“On three of the biggest leaks we have in this town, five guys on each one, didn’t go home yesterday until they completed the work on them,” he said. “I’m in disbelief, myself.”

The largest leak was to a section of waterline that was once approximately five feet under the Swannanoa River, he continued.

“We’ve still got a lot of smaller leaks, but our three main leaks were fixed yesterday by 15 guys working as hard as they could,” he said. “We bypassed one of our river crossings, so if this kind of thing ever happens again, we won’t have to worry about that line.”

The City of Asheville has connected an emergency line from the reservoir, according to Matthews, but turbidity is preventing the municipality from opening the valves.

“They have to wait until the sediment goes down because it will cause more damage than good,” he said.

Black Mountain will use wells to distribute water through its system. Those who receive water will need to boil it before consuming it.

“You can play in it, bathe in it, whatever you want, but do not consume it without boiling it first, for at least one minute,” he said. Water customers should continue to boil water from the taps before consumption until notified otherwise by the town. “I’m telling you, folks, we’ve hit milestones in the past few days.”

With sanitation services interrupted, the town continues to offer dumpsters in the Black Mountain Ingles parking lot and near the Tractor Supply on Old U.S. 70.

“They’re filling up quick, so be patient with one another,” Matthews said. The dumpsters will not be emptied on Sunday.

Black Mountain Public Works Director Jamey Matthews expects water service to return to at least part of the town on Oct. 5, he announced in the final emergency meeting in town square. Photo by Fred McCormick

Utility companies continue to work on the sewer system in the town.

“They’re working around the clock, just like every other utility company,” Matthews said.

While electricity has yet to be restored to most of the town, work is continuing, as a food and water distribution center is serving more than 2,000 residents per day, according to officials.

“Over the course of storm response, over 400 lives have been saved. Basic needs are now being met in the town, and aid continues to arrive daily,” an Oct. 4 press release from the town stated. “Resources are available for citizens for FEMA disaster assistance at disasterassistance.gov. Beware of scammers. We have had reports of scammers in the area. Ask all personnel to show identification badges. All FEMA support will be in identifiable uniforms or vests.”

The Black Mountain Town Hall will reopen at 8 a.m., Monday, Oct. 7, according to Town Manager Josh Harrold. The town will continue to issue updated communications through press releases and its CODE RED system.

“We’re trying to figure out a way to do text messages instead of calls to keep everyone updated as many was as possible,” Harrold said.

The Black Mountain Fire Department has completed all extrication and rescue operations, according to Chief John Coffey.

“We have reached 100% of the community,” he said. “With that said, there are still people who are in areas that are impassable. They have been reached, they have been resupplied and we will continue those supply chains.”

BMFD has also made contact with the Garren Creek and Broad River Fire Departments.

“We brought over 450 people to safety in this operation,” Coffey said.

Mayor Michael Sobol encouraged the community to remain strong.

“The world works best when we help each other out,” he said. “It’s not complicated.”

Help was coming to the region from far and wide, he added.

“I was down in Swannanoa and noticed there were bucket brigades, from Nova Scotia, putting in phone lines,” he said, fighting back an emotional response. “People are coming from a long way.”