About Us

Purpose: The purpose of these divisions is to install and maintain a system to deliver safe drinking water to the customer's tap that meets or exceeds all state and federal safe drinking water regulations including over 653-miles of water mains. We install and maintain a sanitary sewer collection system to provide a safe and economical means of transporting sanitary sewer to our treatment facility including over 200-miles of sewer mains.

Responsibilities: This group is subdivided into two divisions as follows:

Water Distribution System Maintenance: This division is responsible for maintaining over 653-miles of water mains within the City distribution system. We operate a program of line replacements, leak repairs and system maintenance to ensure the quality of water delivered. We also maintain the fire protection system through regular testing and repair of the fire hydrants and water valves throughout the system.

Sewer Collection System Maintenance: This division is responsible for maintaining over 200-miles of sanitary sewer lines necessary to transport sewer from the customer lines to the treatment plant. We clean and inspect the lines as necessary to prevent blockages and to eliminate inflow and infiltration.

This group is responsible for reading more than 32,000 meters located across the City's water system from Hendersonville to Etowah to Edneyville to Saluda to Fletcher. All of these meters are read from 13-towers located throughout the City's distribution system. The information received from this AMI/AMR (advanced metering infrastructure/automated meter reading) system is uploaded on to an off-site server from which information is accessed for preparing bills for our customers.

This group is also responsible for maintaining all water meters, the reading equipment associated with this system and are responsible for addressing customer concerns regarding billing and other related issues. The meters that we maintain in our water system range in size from 3/4" x 5/8" up to 6". The larger meters are manually tested on a regular basis by a certified contractor to ensure accuracy, both for the customer and for the City.

Help our technicians provide efficient service by keeping your water meter clear and accessible.

Operation Support

This group receives all requests for maintenance and repair of the water distribution and sanitary sewer collection system and forwards these requests to the appropriate division for a response. We maintain accurate records of all work performed and the cost involved from materials, equipment, and labor. This division also maintains a warehouse of materials used in the everyday operation of the systems along with an adequate supply of repair materials to handle any emergency repair needed to the system.

Hendersonville Water Treatment Facility (WTF)

The City's water treatment facility (WTF) was originally constructed in 1963 with several upgrades since that time. The most recent renovation project at this treatment facility was completed in the spring of 2010. This facility is currently permitted and constructed to treat up to 12.0 MGD (million gallons per day) with conventional water treatment process including 5-sedimentation basins, 4-multimedia gravity filters, chlorination, fluoridation and corrosion control. This facility is located inside of the Town of Mills River along NC Highway 191 (Haywood Road). The raw water supply for this plant is provided from three different sources, two of which are located in the Pisgah National Forest and one is located on the Mills River. The two intakes found in Pisgah National Forest are located on the North Fork of the Mills River and Bradley Creek and are both gravity fed and provide approximately 4.5 MGD under normal operating conditions. The balance of our raw water is pumped from an intake located on the main stem of the Mills River. The City is currently developing a fourth source of raw water on the French Broad River approximately 2-miles from the treatment plant.

This water undergoes conventional treatment using various chemical and mechanical processes and is then pumped into the City's distribution system from a pump station located at the WTF. The average daily production for 2021 was 7.50-MGD (7,500,000-gallons per day) or approximately 62% of our treatment capacity. We are required by the State of North Carolina and the US Environmental Protection Agency to analyze water provided to consumers for a wide range of potential contaminants and water quality parameters. Frequencies for these analyses range from hourly to daily to annually to once every four years depending on the potential contaminant. A complete list of these analyses can be obtained from the WTF.

We welcome visitors and can arrange tours of the plant for groups, school classes and others interested in the water treatment process.

Plant Spotlight on Hendersonville's Water Treatment Plant

Drinking Water Quality Report

PFAS Statement

For additional information please contact:

Ricky Levi, WTF Manager
Hendersonville Water Treatment Facility
4139 Haywood Road
Mills River, NC 28759-9740

(828) 891-7779 or email

Hendersonville Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF)

The City's current wastewater treatment facility was constructed and put into service in 2002. It replaced the original treatment facility, located on the opposite side of Balfour Road, which was constructed in 1963. The old facility site was renovated for solids (process sludge or biosolids) handling, treatment and storage. The new treatment facility was the result of a comprehensive planning study used to develop the most logical and economical wastewater treatment facility required to meet stringent water quality requirements. The study area encompassed not only the corporate limits of the City, but also the central region of Henderson County including portions of the Town of Laurel Park, the Village of Flat Rock and Henderson County's former Mud Creek Water and Sewer District.

It was projected in the City's comprehensive plan that the City's resident population may increase to approximately 21,000, a 38% increase from the 2009 population, by the year 2030 resulting in an increased demand for sewer service. The average daily design flow was projected, in the comprehensive planning study completed in the late 1990's, to be 4.8 million gallons per day (MGD). The new facility was constructed with a capacity to treat 4.8-MGD, but can be expanded up to 6.0 MGD, which should serve our community well into the future. The daily average flow in 2021 was 2.19 MGD (2,190,000-gallon per day) or ~46% of existing treatment capacity.

This facility utilizes an activated sludge process to achieve an outstanding level of treatment. There are two aeration basins, each holding 2,400,000 gallons of wastewater, where the primary treatment occurs; the mixing of the wastewater and return activated sludge (RAS) with oxygen helps to support the biological treatment process. Sedimentation and flotation occurs in two 90-ft. diameter clarifiers. Effluent sand filters reduce the amount of solids in the treated wastewater (effluent); while disinfection is achieved by the use of ultraviolet (UV) light. All effluent from the plant flows through the disinfection channel before being discharged to Mud Creek.

Sludge removed from the bottoms of the two 90-foot diameter clarifiers is either recycled to the aeration basins or is removed (waste activated sludge – WAS) from the treatment process and is pumped into two thickeners where the wasted sludge is allowed to settle (dewatered). Once the sludge has settled in the thickeners, it is processed through one of two automated belt presses where the material is further dewatered to approximately 18% solids (82% water) and is stored for transporting and disposal off site.

The City's current sewer service area includes the City of Hendersonville, portions of Laurel Park, the Village of Flat Rock and a portion of the central region (urban services area) of Henderson County. The total population served in the existing service area is approximately 22,000 with nearly 16,000 being residents of the City, through a total of approximately 10,000 sewer connections. Residents not connected to the City's sewer system are located in the unsewered areas outside the City or have chosen to maintain their own private systems.

We welcome visitors and can arrange tours of the plant for groups, school classes and others interested in the wastewater treatment process.

The Administration division is responsible for the overall management of the Department, recommending policy to City Council, overseeing projects, capital improvements planning, grant writing, upkeep and maintenance of departmental GIS data, budgeting and purchasing oversight. This division consists of six employees including the utilities director, operations manager, utilities engineer, assistant to the utilities director, environmental compliance coordinator, administrative assistant III and administrative assistant I.