A persistent drainage issue that has impacted residents in a Swannanoa neighborhood for more than a year after Helene is undergoing long-term repairs, following the intervention of a local nonprofit organization.
ReGroup WNC, a grassroots relief initiative that has assisted more than 100 area families with home repairs, vehicle replacement and other necessities since the natural disaster, hired Fairview-based licensed public utility contractor Chonzie, Inc. to install a modern drainage system to accommodate a spring that has left multiple yards muddy along Edwards Avenue in lower Beacon Village.
The neighborhood, south of U.S. 70, experienced severe flooding during the storm, which caused the Swannanoa River to submerge many of the homes, resulting in the boat rescues of residents trapped on their roofs. While everyone on the normally quiet street survived, many of the homes, originally constructed for employees of Beacon Manufacturing, were destroyed…