Fifty-two days after Tropical Storm Helene ravaged Western North Carolina, the City of Asheville restored drinkable water from the tap. Asheville was without any running water for five-11 days and then ran hyper-chlorinated non-potable water for 19 days to achieve adequate disinfection so we could take showers and wash hands. Therefore, no anti-corrosives were run through the water distribution system for about 30 days. A similar scenario happened in Flint, Michigan, over a much longer period between 2014-15. This became known as the Flint Water Crisis because of the resultant damage to the water distribution system, presence of lead in the water, and health problems that occurred after children and adults drank the tainted water.
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