ASHEVILLE — The city of Asheville has secured $6.9 million in additional FEMA and state recovery funds to rebuild water infrastructure and repair public facilities damaged by Hurricane Helene, officials announced this week.
The largest allocation — more than $5 million — is designated for rebuilding the fusegate system at the North Fork Water Treatment Plant, which serves as the primary drinking water source for much of the region. The plant sustained significant damage when Helene struck Western North Carolina in September 2024.
City officials credited the auxiliary spillway, completed in 2021, with preventing even greater catastrophic damage to the facility during the storm's historic floodwaters.
"That spillway investment made a real difference when Helene hit," said one city infrastructure official. "Without it, we'd be looking at a far more extensive and costly rebuild."
Beyond the water plant, the funding package includes $158,000 for guardrail repairs along storm-damaged roadways, $256,000 toward a temporary bridge replacement, and approximately $909,000 for the restoration of recreational facilities including Aston Park Tennis Center and Kenilworth Park.
Both parks remain partially closed or operating under limitations following damage sustained during the storm, leaving residents in surrounding neighborhoods without full access to community green space.
The announcement comes as Asheville continues what officials describe as a multi-year recovery effort following Helene, which caused billions of dollars in damage across Western North Carolina and disrupted water service to Asheville residents for weeks.
City Council members are expected to formally accept the funding allocations at an upcoming meeting. Construction timelines for the fusegate rebuild have not yet been announced, though city engineers have indicated work at North Fork could begin as early as late spring, according to the city.
Residents and advocacy groups have urged the city to prioritize the water plant project given ongoing concerns about long-term system resilience and the potential for future severe weather events in the region, according to meeting minutes.