Our Clean Water Initiative to Suport Western NC
Water Access after Helene
After Hurricane Helene, over 150,000 WNC residents were without water. Only one water treatment plant in Asheville was operational, and it services only 20% of Asheville. It is also supplemented through the West Fork Reservoir that had severe damage to the pipes. For weeks there was “no potential timeline” for repair.
Mandala Springs sprung into action: sharing the protected spring water with WNC residents in all neighboring towns and counties that needed it.
Multiple IBC water totes were purchased and refilled daily for neighborhoods, local businesses, and families in need. And when we say in need, this is everyone who does not live on a well. Countless folks impacted. Few with the resources to help. And the few that were lucky enough showed up in big ways. M.S. also purchased a “water buffalo” truck that could transport 2,500 gallons of water itself, which was then used to fill up reservoirs at locations that had the equipment but not the water access.
This EMERGENCY situation was one where sanitation and hydration had become a crisis, as well as the economic impacts on small businesses. At the time, businesses were being charged $525 per day for the city to refill their water catchment systems they had to pay to install in order to open up shop. Mandala filled these for free, supporting the hurting local economy and helping to keep folks in business + employed.
M.S. utilized the generous donations from the community to rent the water buffalo truck, purchase food-grade IBCs to fill with potable water, obtain a satellite phone, put a down payment on an ATV for when the roads were washed out, purchase 2 generators and generator fuel, and all of the gasoline necessary to complete these transports and local excavating to help get the roads drivable again. The towing capacity trucks, the drivers and distributers, and the food to feed volunteers were donated to support these efforts. It truly does take a village.
If you are currently in need of drinking water for you, your business, or your community, please submit a request here.
Our Water Mission
We have 47 springs on our land with fresh, clean drinking water.
Our mission is to bring this fresh, clean water to thousands of people who desperately need it.
Using a combination of IBC totes and the donated Water Buffalo truck that holds 2,500 gallons of water, we were able to deliver countless gallons of potable water to communities and businesses in WNC for weeks after the storm.
how we did it
Tested the water weekly for E. Coli and other forms of bacteria to ensure the water is safe to drink and posted the results publicly. Both the wild spring water and spring-fed artisanal well water were tested weekly and no evidence of any E. Coli or coliform bacteria were ever found. Also the pH was found to be 8.4 which is alkaline, demonstrating purity and safety as contaminants tend to make water more acidic.
Fill our 275 gallon water holding tanks from our artesian well. Then use the high pressure water pump to quickly transfer water from our full tanks into an empty tank on each volunteer’s trailer.
It is important to note that we used up-cycled IBC totes to store and transport our water. These food-grade totes have been previously used to store glycerin, coconut, honey, and soybean oil. Despite our thorough cleaning process, there may be trace amounts of these foods in the containers. So, we recommend that those with serious known allergens to these substances refrain from consuming this water.
Coordinate our team of volunteers to deliver the tanks to our drop locations like donation centers, communities, and local businesses that expressed need. They pump water from the full tank into their empty tank, and the pump + newly emptied tank returns to Mandala for the process to repeat.
Early Accomplishments
Early on in our initiative, YOU helped us as we hauled water out gallon by gallon with an ATV. Donations went to each of these initiatives:
Because we live in a remote area it took time for the road to be repaired. Our tractor helped excavate the landslide keeping our community from the main road.
An off-road ATV enabled us to travel over land, avoiding the damaged road and bringing water directly to our neighbors and greater community repeatedly.
We had trucks lined up on the other side of the river, taking water to all the major stations for distribution to those in need.
Generators provided power to our neighbors and to our water pumps helping with water distribution.
A satellite phone helped us communicate with the community and understand their needs while cell service was down, which lasted for the first 5 days.
After this initial phase…
In collaboration with Truth Is One Church we received a water buffalo truck. This allowed us to deliver much more water. In fact in 2.5 hours we can deliver what used to take us almost 12 hours!!
This water truck has a fantastic history! It delivered non potable water for Flush AVL (check them out!). Sanitation was a crisis in Asheville when folks were unable to flush their toilets. We are so grateful for the lent use of this truck to have been able to more easily deliver potable (drinking) water. We opened the hull, sanitized, and refinished the tank. We filled it with our artisan well (safe, clean, tested, spring water) and distributed it daily throughout the neighboring communities.
Also, there was a transition from sourcing water from the wild spring to utilizing our artesian well. Here’s a brief overview of how the new system works:
Our artesian well taps into a robust underground stream that flows through ancient bedrock fissures. This well is designed with a protective metal sleeve to safeguard against potential biological contamination, and it is securely capped and sealed.
The pressurized well effectively captures this pristine underground flow, allowing us to deliver clean spring water directly to our totes and trucks.
While we’ll continue to conduct occasional tests—particularly after heavy rain or storms—the rigorous testing schedule required for the wild spring is no longer necessary. Our current test results will remain valid for an extended period, ensuring the water’s safety. Following significant weather events, we will conduct tests to verify that our water remains uncontaminated.
Thank you for your continued trust in our water quality!