Asheville received good news this morning — and earlier than expected. At the Monday, Nov. 18 Buncombe County briefing, Water Resources Department PIO Clay Chandler declared that the boil water notice has been lifted.

Water Resources lab staff completed the sampling of the distribution system over the weekend, and results confirmed no presence of E. coli or coliform. They also showed that the flushing process that began Wednesday, Oct. 30 has turned the system over and that all raw water has been replaced with treated water. Normal use of municipal water may resume, including consumption.

This morning at the North Fork reservoir, the turbidity level was ~14.5 NTUs, but after the water is sent through the filtration process and reaches our taps, it reads at 0.1 NTUs — the normal, pre-storm levels.

Chandler acknowledged that with the notice lifted, there is an expected increase in demand — he asks customers to temporarily avoid activities that require large volumes of water such as filling bathtubs or swimming pools, abnormally long showers, landscaping, and watering plants.

However, there's an additional rule for folks with plumbing installed before 1988. As was the case even before the storm, these customers are instructed to flush their taps for 30 seconds to two minutes (or until they can feel a temperature change) each time before consuming water.

For context, last week, detectable lead was found in several area schools' water, as a result of the normal anti-corrosion treatment not being administered for ~19 days following Helene. But the source water has been tested and show no detectable levels of lead. Chandler said in the briefing that Water Resources has "absolutely no concern" about lead presence in the distribution system.

Residents in homes built before 1988 are encouraged to request a lead and copper testing kit online — 2,000+ tests have already been requested. You can also visit the City of Asheville's Lead Awareness webpage for updates on water safety measures.