This project was completed this past spring (2009). In the falloff 2006 a serious gas leak from a convenience service station threatened the Tribe’s drinking water. A leak was discovered above the in-take area at the Tribal Water Treatment Plant. Some traces of gasoline were discovered in the water system. Temporary structures were created to protect the water in-take system. In order to guarantee the Tribe would have clean drinking water, a sub-aqueous pipe system was constructed to a point 400 feet up stream from the leak/spill area. The system has an automated air-burst system that cleans the underwater in-take heads from dirt and debris. The system was completed in October 2008 and has been functioning through the winter. A guard structure to protect the in-take heads had to be installed this past spring to avoid the federally mandated trout moratorium. Carolina Specialties Construction of Hendersonville constructed the system in a timely fashion for the Tribe. Brown Consulting of Asheville was the designing and inspecting engineering firm. Emergency funding was received from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
