Elle DeBruhl is the co-founder of Flush AVL, a grassroots organization that stepped up in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene to provide non-potable water for flushing toilets to people in Asheville, North Carolina, and surrounding areas.

Elle is a recruiter for Ernst & Young, and up until the storm, she had no experience in water distribution. But not long after the storm, she realized that vulnerable neighbors and people in more densely populated areas of Asheville would need help getting water for flushing. Thanks to a family farm, Elle and her husband, Buddy, sprang to action and started filling 250-gallon containers with gray water and delivering them to locations in downtown Asheville. Soon after, Elle teamed up with Flush AVL co-founder Molly Black, who created a map that was crucial to strategically placing the containers, also known as totes, throughout the city. Alliances were formed with the likes of BeLoved Asheville and Highland Brewing, and what started with six totes and a truck swelled to more than 400 totes and an army of volunteers.

In this episode, Elle retraces the inception of Flush AVL and how they turned a crisis into a story of resilience and community support. She also discusses Flush AVL’s efforts to redistribute the totes to other communities after water returned to Asheville, and much more.

Flush AVL

flushavl.com

@flushavl_ on Instagram

Flush AVL’s GoFundMe

Also Mentioned

March toward normal turbidity continues, as third coagulation treatment is underway for Asheville’s water

BeLoved Asheville

Highland Brewing

Ernst & Young

Theme Music

The song "Goa" was written by Lyndsay Pruett and performed by the Jon Stickley Trio.