City of Asheville Names Bill Hart Water Resource Director

Last week, the City of Asheville announced that Bill Hart will be the Director of Water Resources, effective March 16th.  Hart has served as the interim director since August 2025.  

“It has been an incredible honor to serve as Interim Water Resources Director, and I am deeply grateful for the trust placed in me to lead the department permanently,” stated Hart. “Asheville is a special community, and I am fully committed to ensuring our residents and businesses enjoy continued access to safe, reliable, and sustainable water. Our water system is especially complex and presents unique challenges. While I am extremely proud of the progress we have made since Helene, everyone at Water Resources understands there remains a lot of work to do to make our system stronger. I look forward to continuing to work alongside our talented team of 181 employees, City leadership and our state and federal partners to accomplish that.” 

Bill has been an employee in the Water Resources Department for 16 years, serving several roles including Water Plant Operator, North Fork Water Treatment Plan Supervisor, and Water Production Division Manager. Bill holds a Bachelor of Science from Western Carolina University, and has a background in natural resource management. This field of study provided a strong foundation of water treatment and production, project and facilities management, and the dynamic nature of watersheds and hydrology. 

City Manager DK Wesley added, “We are delighted to have Bill’s extensive knowledge and experience as a tenured employee within Asheville’s Water Resources Department. We are confident his leadership will guide us for years to come in essential infrastructure improvements while enhancing needed system resiliency.”