Independent review of Asheville's water crisis during holidays complete; report soon to be released

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — The city of Asheville's Independent Review Committee report on the water crisis that left tens of thousands in Buncombe County without water over Christmas 2022 into the new year is complete.

The report was delivered to the city on Tuesday afternoon, June 6, and is under legal review by the city attorney, who has exclusive possession of the report, a city official told News 13. Once complete, the report will be released to the public.

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According to city of Asheville leadership:

The City Attorney has exclusive possession of the report and is performing the necessary legal review to include the redaction of any legally confidential information. Once complete, the report will be produced to the public as planned. It will be accessible via the City of Asheville website. In the interim, the committee is engaged in making preparations for presenting its findings to the City Council. This will be conducted at an upcoming City Council meeting, with the final date being dependent upon completing the legal review and presentation materials. As anticipated, the presentation is planned to take place as soon as June 13th, but not later than June 27.

The impacts of the water outage for south Asheville began Dec. 25, 2022. It was Jan. 4, 2023, before the water service was restored. The Independent Review Committee was initiated by the city of Asheville on Jan. 10, 2023. By Feb. 7, 2023, the city and Buncombe County had appointed representatives. The committee provided council with an update March 28, 2023, and completed the report in the allotted 90 days.

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