Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The Waynesville Housing Authority (WHA) is seeking funding after a seam failure on the south-facing wall of its Tower Apartment Complex that houses the elderly and those with disabilities.
"It really happened in January; it was like a huge gush in a unit. Multiple units, I believe it was two or three units the first time," said Beth Kahl, executive director of the Waynesville Housing Authority.
The housing authority is placing a tarp over the south-side wall, aiming to keep water out.
"We put a tarp over it, and the wind actually got that tarp during the next storm and water came in a second time, and it affected more units," Kahl said.
The tarp is only a temporary fix as WHA seeks nearly $100,000 to help fix both the exterior and interior damage to the south side of the building, finding issues in their search.
According to WHA, the water caused substantial interior damage, requiring the necessary demolition of interior wall coverings, affecting eight apartments, in which residents relocated to different apartments.
"It has disrupted many people's lives; they've had to make a choice to move out or where to move, and it's not easy moving when you're our age, you know, you have to depend on family, and you know sometimes family is not even local," said Sandra Arnold, a resident at the Tower Complex since 2017.
Kahl says that although WHA has submitted insurance claims, they have been denied twice. Along with submitting claims, WHA highlights how rising maintenance costs, as well as severe weather events and reductions in federal funding have affected housing authorities across the country and are affecting WHA's efforts.
"There are different grants and stuff available; we just don't quite have enough in our reserves to cover fixing it just yet," Kahl said.
Kahl says that although there's not quite enough reserves to cover fixing all the issues, WHA is close to having the amount to fix the exterior walls.
"We're close to having the reserves for doing the exterior only so we can at least remove the tarps, but then it's a whole other battle for the interior as well," Kahl said.
Arnold says the water damage has made her concerned about mold.
"The possibility of mold is always on the back of my mind because I've got a friend that lived down, right next to one of those apartments and when I go visit her, it's like, 'Oh, okay, I've got asthma, what's gonna happen? Is there any mold?'" Arnold said.
Arnold says, despite the concern, Kahl has done a great job of having checks done to make sure that there is no mold, but although having checks done and doing their best at getting funding, seeing the lingering problem is frustrating for residents.
"Invisible, like we just, we're old, and we're sitting here waiting to die, and so everybody else is gonna go on about their own business and just essentially turn a blind eye," Arnold said.
The housing authority agrees, saying the struggle has been disheartening.
"It's just disheartening. We're doing the best we can, we're reaching out everywhere we can think of. It's just disheartening that we're trying to get the help, because it is an elderly, disabled building, so the people affected are the minority of the elderly and disabled, they need the help," Kahl said.
Looking for other sources of funding, the WHA has turned to the Renew NC Program, where it has submitted the pre-screening process and is waiting on approval before submitting its full application.
#waterdamage #flooding #housing
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The Waynesville Housing Authority (WHA) is seeking funding after a seam failure on the south-facing wall of its Tower Apartment Complex that houses the elderly and those with disabilities.
"It really happened in January; it was like a huge gush in a unit. Multiple units, I believe it was two or three units the first time," said Beth Kahl, executive director of the Waynesville Housing Authority.
The housing authority is placing a tarp over the south-side wall, aiming to keep water out.
"We put a tarp over it, and the wind actually got that tarp during the next storm and water came in a second time, and it affected more units," Kahl said.
The tarp is only a temporary fix as WHA seeks nearly $100,000 to help fix both the exterior and interior damage to the south side of the building, finding issues in their search.
According to WHA, the water caused substantial interior damage, requiring the necessary demolition of interior wall coverings, affecting eight apartments, in which residents relocated to different apartments.
"It has disrupted many people's lives; they've had to make a choice to move out or where to move, and it's not easy moving when you're our age, you know, you have to depend on family, and you know sometimes family is not even local," said Sandra Arnold, a resident at the Tower Complex since 2017.
Kahl says that although WHA has submitted insurance claims, they have been denied twice. Along with submitting claims, WHA highlights how rising maintenance costs, as well as severe weather events and reductions in federal funding have affected housing authorities across the country and are affecting WHA's efforts.
"There are different grants and stuff available; we just don't quite have enough in our reserves to cover fixing it just yet," Kahl said.
Kahl says that although there's not quite enough reserves to cover fixing all the issues, WHA is close to having the amount to fix the exterior walls.
"We're close to having the reserves for doing the exterior only so we can at least remove the tarps, but then it's a whole other battle for the interior as well," Kahl said.
Arnold says the water damage has made her concerned about mold.
"The possibility of mold is always on the back of my mind because I've got a friend that lived down, right next to one of those apartments and when I go visit her, it's like, 'Oh, okay, I've got asthma, what's gonna happen? Is there any mold?'" Arnold said.
Arnold says, despite the concern, Kahl has done a great job of having checks done to make sure that there is no mold, but although having checks done and doing their best at getting funding, seeing the lingering problem is frustrating for residents.
"Invisible, like we just, we're old, and we're sitting here waiting to die, and so everybody else is gonna go on about their own business and just essentially turn a blind eye," Arnold said.
The housing authority agrees, saying the struggle has been disheartening.
"It's just disheartening. We're doing the best we can, we're reaching out everywhere we can think of. It's just disheartening that we're trying to get the help, because it is an elderly, disabled building, so the people affected are the minority of the elderly and disabled, they need the help," Kahl said.
Looking for other sources of funding, the WHA has turned to the Renew NC Program, where it has submitted the pre-screening process and is waiting on approval before submitting its full application.
#waterdamage #flooding #housing
MORE: wlos.com/news/local/waynesville-housing-authority-funding-wall-seam-flooding-residents-tarp-water-damage-renew-nc-severe-weather-repair-costs-mold-application-elderly-disabilities-demolitions
_______________
Follow WLOS on social media:
WLOS ABC 13 News on Facebook: facebook.com/News13
WLOS ABC 13 News on X: https://x.com/WLOS_13
WLOS ABC 13 News on Instagram: instagram.com/wlos_13
Subscribe to WLOS on YouTube: youtube.com/user/ABC13Channel/?sub_confirmation=1
For all of the day’s top local and national news, visit wlos.com
Stream our newscasts LIVE: wlos.com/watch
Have a news tip? Send it directly to us:
Email us: news@wlos.com
Call the Newsroom: 828.684.1340
--
WLOS ABC 13 News serves the Asheville, NC area and the rest of western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina. We keep our audience informed through local news, weather forecasts, traffic updates, notices of community events, sports and entertainment programming since 1954.
This video and all Sinclair Broadcast Group content archives of local news and sports coverage are available for your use. For more information contact us at contentsales@sbgtv.com
