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Steve Shoaf

Submitted by Elisabeth on Wed, 12/04/2024 - 10:44am

 

In case you missed it, in the November 27 edition of the Mt Xpress, former Asheville City Council member Cecil Bothwell shared a letter of praise for Steve Shoaf, former director of Water Resources. 

The full letter can be found here, but the big takeaway is that as bad as things were in the wake of Helene, Steve's recommendations to improve our water system and their approval by the City Council saved countless lives. 

Here's a short summary from the Mt X newsletter:

“On Oct. 25, Asheville Water Resources Department spokesperson Clay Chandler offered the public a chilling vision of a catastrophe averted,” writes Bothwell.

“He reported that a spillway project completed in 2020-21 at the North Fork Reservoir arguably prevented ‘what is already a catastrophe from being exponentially worse.’ It probably prevented the collapse of the North Fork Dam, which would have released 6 billion gallons of water to scour the valley from Black Mountain to Biltmore and beyond. I think I was not alone in thinking, ‘Whew!’” 

Bothwell continues: “I was glad we approved it, though I honestly didn’t recall, but what I realized is that there’s not a chance in the world that we elected officials came up with the idea. I wanted to find out who did.

“It turns out it was Steve Shoaf, Asheville’s director of water resources from 2009-15, who recognized the need following the 2004 flood (among others) and advanced the idea before his retirement.

 

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Steve Shoaf

Celebrating Steve

When we read this story, we were astounded. In the days following the storm, several of our team members worked directly with Steve, a long-time volunteer leader with our organization. At no point did he talk about the role he played in this effort years ago or its impact on all of us today. 

It's that same quiet leadership we've come to rely on. While a city employee, he was an active champion of our work. In retirement, he has chosen to lead our affinity group, Retire United, which is dedicated to engaging community members in meaningful service after their work lives slow down. 

Erika Goffin, Associate Director of Resource Development, shared, "Working alongside Steve doing community work is an honor and a privilege. Steve always asks, “How can I help?” He never complains and is the most patient and steady person I know. His steadfastness saw the dam reinforcement project through and radiates from him daily as he actively supports our community in tremendous ways through his volunteerism at various organizations through United Way. Steve, we cannot thank you enough for literally saving our community from what could have been."