Michael Holcombe, author of the first book detailing the history of Asheville's water, will give a 45 minute presentation followed by audience Q&A and book signing. Like his book, this event will trace the history of Asheville's water system from the 1797 incorporation of the city to our post-Helene recovery. Michael explores the importance of this abundant natural gift to the growth of our city and the its reputation as a "climate haven."

Asheville's water resources director throughout much of the 1990s, Michael set out to write The Story of Asheville's Water: Before and Beyond Hurricane Helene after the infamous municipal outage of December 2022. "It became evident that the absence of crucial water system information, if not directly responsible, contributed greatly to the outage. I realized that with the passage of time, I had become one of the oldest surviving 'veterans' that had operated the Asheville water system and wanted very much to restore and preserve vital information."

Michael L. Holcombe was born in Asheville and educated at Appalachian State University. He spent over two decades in the management of the Asheville municipal water system. With his lifelong love of history, Michael writes the first-ever comprehensive account of how Asheville's water drove its development from its beginnings in the 1880s to how the utility plans resurrection from Hurricane Helene.