Asheville Council advances dam repairs, stormwater fixes, recovery funding

The North Fork repair is especially significant because city staff said the spillway and fusegate system helped protect about 80% of Asheville’s drinking water supply during Helene. The auxiliary spillway has eight fusegates designed to tip in sequence as reservoir levels rise, and the fusegate now being rebuilt was completed in 2021 as part of the North Fork Dam Improvement Project.

Council also advanced the North Fork Transmission Main No. 3 project through an amendment to a professional services contract with Ardurra Group, Inc. City officials said the line will be relocated to higher ground and away from flood-prone areas, a move intended to make it a “more resilient” water line and help Asheville qualify for FEMA mitigation funding. The city said the transmission work must move quickly to meet federal deadlines.

Stormwater repairs were split into three design-and-engineering contracts: a $1 million package with about $1.15 million in related budget amendments, a $1.05 million contract backed by about $1.21 million in state and federal funding, and a $224,800 contract with TRC plus up to $33,720 in additional costs and roughly $258,500 in state and federal support. Taken together, the contracts set up work across flood-damaged drainage sites that council members said will reduce repeat failures in future storms.

The board also added $7.2 million to the city’s recovery budget, with money expected from FEMA, the state and insurance payouts. That funding builds on the nearly $6.9 million in state and federal Helene recovery money Asheville received in March, including more than $5 million from FEMA for the fusegate rebuild and additional work at places such as Hardesty Lane, Aston Park Tennis Courts, Kenilworth Park, Montford Ballfield, Weaver Park, Roger Farmer Park, Eagle Street Park and Malvern Hills Park.