Leaders assessing dam infrastructure using lessons learned from Helene
When Helene tore through western North Carolina this dam couldn't
hold back the floodwater
The failure here at Lake Craig one of more than
40 across the state and experts say it won't be
the last if aging infrastructure isn't strengthened for the storms
ahead
The cracked concrete still bears the scars of the storm
A lot of debris built up behind this dam and
it just overwhelmed it
Erin McCombs lives just downstream from Asheville's Lake Craig Dam
where Helene ripped through last year overwhelming the infrastructure and
taking a bridge out with it
A common misconception is that all dams provide a flood
control
And that isn't true for run of river dams that
are the vast majority of dams it's water in water
out
McCombs works with American rivers to remove aging unsafe dams
The failure in her own backyard makes that mission personal
We removed a couple of dams up on the Watauga
River before Helene hit and we saw that
Projects saved lives and protected critical infrastructure that played out
at Wards Mill Dam in Sugar Grove
It came out in 2021 and resident John Coll says
that likely spared his community after Helene still sent water
rushing into his home
The general analysis is that the flood would have crested
12 to 15 ft higher
than it did on the day had the dam still
been there
State lawmakers recently approved $10 million for damaged dams funding
that advocates call a first step not a finish line
because the safest dam is a dam that isn't there
anymore
With thousands of dams across North Carolina and removal averaging
about a million dollars each
State leaders now face a tough question which communities get
protected first
We really shouldn't be in a position where we're juggling
those risks
State leaders hope the new funding for dam repair and
removals will help prevent disasters like this but advocates say
it's only a down payment on what's needed to protect
communities in a changing climate in Asheville I'm Liz McLaughlin
WIL News