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Negligence claim dismissed in Hope MIlls' legal fight over failed dam
10-25-13 | Fayetteville Observer staff writer | By Rodger Mullen
HOPE MILLS - A negligence claim against one of the defendants in the town's $10 million lawsuit against the designers and builders of the failed Hope Mills Lake dam was dismissed Thursday. Superior Court Judge Erwin Spainhour dismissed the negligence claim against AMEC Environment and Infrastructure, formerly MacTec Engineering, at a hearing in Concord, said Town Attorney T.C. Morphis Jr. read more

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Hope Mills Lake lawsuit "on schedule''
10-08-13 | FayObserver.com | By Stacey Gillis
A 45-minute closed session meeting was held at the beginning of Monday night's Board of Commissioners meeting. Commissioners met with town attorneys. The minutes of the meeting were sealed and no action was taken. Afterward, Nick Herman, the town's lead attorney on its lawsuit involving the contractors and designers of the failed Hope Mills Lake dam, updated the Board and the public on the pending litigation. Herman stated that over the last three months, attorneys have reviewed approximately 80,000 documents produced by the various defendants in the case. read more

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Four Raleigh neighborhood lake dams to be replaced next year
09-15-13 | Raleigh News & Observer | By Colin Campbell
Four aging dams that hold back neighborhood lakes are slated for replacement next year as Raleigh repairs crumbling pieces of infrastructure. Representatives of the city's stormwater utilities department met last week with residents of the Laurel Hills neighborhood off Edwards Mill Road to unveil plans for a new dam at Laurel Hills Lake. The project, set to begin next spring, will cost up to $2 million and take a year to 18 months. "That's a high-hazard dam," stormwater utility manager Danny Bowden said. "The system conveying the water from the lake downstream is way undersized. There's a safety risk there in the event that the dam was to blow out." read more

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NC challenges Alcoa's property rights for dams
08-02-13 | Lake Norman News

North Carolina officials filed a lawsuit Friday in a long-running fight with Alcoa over who will control the water and electric power that comes from the state's second-largest river system for the next 50 years. State officials said in the lawsuit that Alcoa has no ownership rights to the bed of the Yadkin River over which four dams were built beginning a century ago. The lawsuit asks a state court judge in Wake County to rule that the state retains ownership rights to the submerged land, so North Carolina now has rights to a stake in the hydropower dams. read more

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Rain raises lake levels above full
08-02-13 | Lake Norman News

Another day of heavy rainfall raised water levels in Lake Norman and the other lakes in the Catawba River chain to near – and in some cases, above – full-pond levels last week, and prompted more safety warnings from Duke Energy. The July 27 rainfall – upwards of 12 inches in parts of Catawba, western Lincoln and northern Cleveland counties – flooded portions of the counties, shutting down 50 to 60 roads in the area and sending torrents of water into the upper reaches of the Catawba River chain. Three of the four lakes in the upper part of the Catawba River chain were still above full pond levels a day after the storm. Lake Rhodhiss was at 101.1 feet, Lookout Shoals Lake was at 100.9, and Lake James was at 100.3. read more

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NC infrastructure gets mostly C grades from engineers
06-07-13 | Charlotte Observer | By Bruce Siceloff

North Carolina gets mediocre grades for its efforts to maintain aging bridges, roads, schools and water systems in a new infrastructure report card compiled by a professional engineers' group.
The American Society of Civil Engineers expresses its greatest concern about public safety – and issues a D grade – for the state's dams. Out of 3,862 structures regulated by the Dam Safety Office, 1,130 are classified as "high hazard" because failure would cause death or major property damage downstream. State inspectors have rated 10 percent of the high-hazard dams as deficient. read more | read the report

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Duke says flood gate at dam failed
05-21-13 | Charlotte Observer | By Bruce Henderson

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission wants Duke Energy to explain why a flood gate at its Oxford Dam on Lake Hickory failed to fully open during flooding early this month. As up to 11 inches of rain sent water surging down the Catawba River on May 5, Duke opened a flood gate in the dam three feet to release rising water downstream. The next morning, as lake levels continued to rise, Duke tried to open the gate another three feet but couldn't. A hoist on the dam that lifts gates failed because of an electrical problem, spokeswoman Lisa Hoffmann said. Hoists are tested every two weeks, she said. read more

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The Catawba River is still endangered, group says
04-16-13 | Charlotte Observer | By Bruce Henderson

The Catawba River has been named for a third time to an endangered-rivers list, this time for the millions of tons of coal ash held in open lagoons along its banks. The No. 5 ranking by the advocacy group American Rivers touched off a pointed exchange Tuesday over the safety of Duke Energy's ash, which holds potentially toxic elements. A key question for Charlotte is what Duke will do with the 2.7 million tons of ash stored at its Riverbend power plant, west of the city, which shut down April 1. Riverbend's lagoons perch above Mountain Island Lake, the water supply for 860,000 people. Read more. read more

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Raleigh plans to spend millions to repair neighborhood lakes
03-06-13 | Raleigh News & Observer | By Colin Campbell

Upper Longview Lake off New Bern Avenue is getting a $2.2 million restoration. The improvements are needed for flood control, pollution control and infrastructure maintenance on the adjacent roads and sidewalks. Upper Longview is just one of 100 lakes that Raleigh's stormwater department oversees, and it's one of six scheduled for massive overhauls in the coming two years. "The ones we have right now have been deemed strategically important," said Scott Bryant, an engineer with the department. Most are located in midcentury neighborhoods close to the Beltline, where dams, spillways and other lake infrastructure are outdated and crumbling. Many of the upgrades are required by the state's dam maintenance program. Left alone, a failing dam could cause flooding and destroy the city streets that run atop them. "At some point, it becomes a matter of something has to be done for public safety," Bryant said. read more

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Milburnie Dam: An obstacle to safety and nature
11-28-12 | Raleigh News & Observer | By George Howard

There has been much discussion and debate in recent years over whether Raleigh's Milburnie Dam should be removed. The short answer is yes, and the time has come to make that happen. The Milburnie Dam is located on the Neuse River, just east of Raleigh and 15 miles south of Falls Lake. Once used to generate hydroelectric power, the privately owned dam is now serving no purpose. Private money, not public, will go toward the removal of the Milburnie Dam. It is privately owned, and we are working in partnership with the owners. We will pay for the removal of the dam and are confident in the success of this project. read more

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Hope Mills considers legal options on repair of dam
03-22-11 | FayObserver.com | by Rodger Mullen

The Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Monday to pursue legal action over the failed Hope Mills Lake dam, if progress is not made by June in repairing the structure.
"As a town, we need to be prepared, and the way to be prepared is with legal representation," said Commissioner Terry Smith, who made the motion.
The action came after Randy Beeman, the town manager, reported that state Dam Safety officials have approved "phase two" stabilization efforts on the dam. read more

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Better safe than sorry unscores new dam safety protocols
02-16-11 | Smoky Mountain News | by Quintin Ellison

New protocols for the unlikely event that one of Duke Energy's dams shows a sign of weakness could speed evacuation of residents downstream. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission wants power companies such as Duke Energy to cut the amount of time between workers suspecting a problem with a dam and the evacuation of anyone who might be at risk, a job carried out by local emergency responders. read more

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Hope Mills: How to lose a lake
11-28-10 | Fayetteville Observer | Francis X. Gilpin

An engineer hired by Hope Mills to find out what caused the June 17 failure of the town's 2-year-old dam isn't getting much help from those who designed it. Hope Mills residents, frustrated by the broken $14.8 million dam, are no closer to knowing precisely why their beloved lake suddenly drained in June than they were five months ago. read more

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Hope Mills wants dam that will not fail again
09-12-2010 | newsobserver.com | by Martha Guillin

In their antiques store on South Main Street, Marilyn and Jim Farrell offer artifacts from the fond old days when farm fields were lush with tobacco, textile mills hummed and there was water in Hope Mills Lake. read more

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Hope Mills Lake drained; dam failure investigated
06-18-2010 | fayobserver.com | By Nancy McCleary

HOPE MILLS - Officials will begin reviewing data today in an effort to figure out why the Hope Mills Lake dam failed Thursday, draining the town's iconic centerpiece. read more

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Coal ash jeopardizes N.C. residents' health
06-09-2010 | indyweek.com | by Sue Sturgis

Coal ash isn't just dumped; it's increasingly being recycled into building materials and other uses. But in states like North Carolina, the failure to adequately regulate one so-called "beneficial use" of the toxic-filled waste is putting communities at risk. read more

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EPA Report Shows Catawba River Threatened by Coal Ash Waste
06-29-2009 | catawbariverkeeper.org

Coal ash from power plants is being accumulated in ponds along the Catawba River. According to the EPA, four of ash ponds that pose the highest hazard are along the Catawba River. read more

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EPA list shows dangerous coal ash sites found in 10 states
06-29-2009 | catawbariverkeeper.org

WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday released a list of 44 coal-fired power plant waste sites in 10 states with a high hazard potential, including 12 sites in North Carolina, seven in Kentucky and a large storage pond in Pennsylvania. read more

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Macon County, NC, September 19, 2004 -- Heavy rains from Hurricane Ivan in Macon County, NC in 2004 created rushing water at Peeks Creek, washing away 30 houses and killing four people. The flooding deposited large amounts of debris along the waterway. Tropical rains from hurricanes can put significant stress on inland dams.
FEMA Photo Library - 11170