Two Years After Helene, 24 Mitchell County Families Still Lack Safe Water
Town Council • Spruce PineSeptember 28, 2026
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Two years after Hurricane Helene, the need in Mitchell County is still growing. At its Sept. 28, 2026, meeting, the Spruce Pine Town Council added a last-minute briefing from the county's long-term recovery group, which reported families without running water, households still displaced and new cases arriving every week. Water ran through the rest of the night: the council cleared the town manager to seek state money for a mandated lead pipe inventory, and crews spent the weekend patching breaks in aging lines.
24 families lack safe drinking water, two years after Helene
Recovery group takes in 4 to 6 new cases weekly; 21 families remain displaced
Winter freezes threaten the temporary water totes families now depend on
Council approves Resolution 2026.124 to seek state funds for a lead pipe inventory
Staff expect the state money to arrive as fully forgiven debt
1 big thing: The council added a presentation by Executive Director Stephanie Pittman of the Mitchell County Long-Term Resilience Group at the start of the meeting. Her message was that recovery is far from over.
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