| Cane Creek Reservoir | |
|---|---|
| Location | Orange County, North Carolina |
| Type | Reservoir |
| Built | 1989 |
| Surface area | 540 acres (220 ha) |
| Water volume | 1,900,000,000 US gallons (7.2×109 L; 1.6×109 imp gal) |
Cane Creek Reservoir is a reservoir in Orange County, North Carolina serving the Carrboro-Chapel Hill area. It is operated by the Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA).
Proposals to build a reservoir on Cane Creek were made as the area's population was growing too large to be sustained by University Lake. [1] In the 1950s, Daniel Okun, professor of environmental sciences and engineering at UNC, tasked his students with determining the best potential water source for UNC. They identified Cane Creek as the best source, which as confirmed by an independent engineering consultant. [2]
Several other possible water sources were discussed. One possibility was expanding University Lake by building a larger dam, which was deemed too expensive, or tapping into the Haw River or Jordan Lake which both had inferior water quality. The proposed construction of Cane Creek Reservoir was controversial with locals, who lost homes and farmland when the reservoir was made. [3] [1]
Objections to Cane Creek Reservoir resulted in a "a protracted, statewide discussion". [4] The Cane Creek Conservation Association lobbied to block the reservoir's construction, while OWASA lobbied to build it. [3] Eventually, the courts forced local landowners to sell their land in the watershed under eminent domain, and the reservoir was built. [1] The dam was completed in 1977, [2] and the reservoir was filled in 1989. [5] It is about 11 miles west of Carrboro. [6]
The reservoir is fed by Cane Creek, Tom's Creek, Watery Creek, and Turkey Hill Creek. [1] The Cane Creek Reservoir Dam is 72 feet high. [7] It has an area of 540 acres, [8] and a volume of 2.9 billion gallons. [6] Swimming is not permitted on the lake but boating and fishing are allowed, [9] provided the boats do not use gasoline engines. [10]
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange and Durham County, North Carolina, United States. Its population was 61,960 in the 2020 census, making Chapel Hill the 17th-most populous municipality in the state. Chapel Hill and Durham make up the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 608,879 in 2023. When it's combined with Raleigh, the state capital, they make up the corners of the Research Triangle, which had an estimated population of 2,368,947 in 2023.
Orange County is a county located in the Piedmont region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 148,696. Its county seat is Hillsborough. Orange County is included in the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC Combined Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 2,368,947 in 2023. It is home to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the flagship institution of the University of North Carolina System and the oldest state-supported university in the United States.
Chatham County is a county located in the Piedmont area of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is also the location of the geographic center of North Carolina, northwest of Sanford. As of the 2020 census, the population was 76,285. Its county seat is Pittsboro.
Buncombe County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is classified within Western North Carolina. The 2020 census reported the population was 269,452, making it the 7th-most populous county in North Carolina. Its county seat is Asheville. Buncombe County is part of the Asheville, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Alamance County is a county in North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 171,415. Its county seat is Graham. Formed in 1849 from Orange County to the east, Alamance County has been the site of significant historical events, textile manufacturing, and agriculture.
B. Everett Jordan Lake is a reservoir in New Hope Valley, west of Cary and south of Durham in Chatham County, North Carolina, in the United States; the northernmost end of the lake extends into southwestern Durham County.
The Haw River is a tributary of the Cape Fear River, approximately 110 mi (177 km) long, that is entirely contained in north central North Carolina in the United States. It was first documented as the "Hau River" by John Lawson, an English botanist, in his 1709 book "A New Voyage to Carolina." The name is shortened from Saxapahaw, from the Catawban /sak'yápha:/, "piedmont, foothill", from /sak/, "hill", plus /yápha:/, "step". The river gives its name to a small town that formed on its banks.
The Falling Water River is a 46.8-mile-long (75.3 km) stream in the east-central portion of Middle Tennessee in the United States. It rises just west of Monterey at the edge of the Cumberland Plateau, and traverses the Eastern Highland Rim before dropping off to the Nashville Basin and emptying into Center Hill Lake along the Caney Fork. The river is noted for the 136-foot (41 m) Burgess Falls, which it spills over near the end of its course.
Lake Norman is a man-made fresh water lake in southwest North Carolina. The largest lake in the state, it was created between 1959 and 1964 as part of the construction of the Cowans Ford Dam by Duke Energy. Located in Iredell County, 15 miles north of Charlotte, Lake Norman State Park boasts the region's popular mountain biking trail system.
Lewisville Lake, formerly known as Garza-Little Elm Reservoir, is a reservoir in North Texas (USA) on the Elm Fork of the Trinity River in Denton County near Lewisville. Originally engineered in 1927 as Lake Dallas, the reservoir was expanded in the 1940s and 1950s and renamed Lewisville Lake. It was built for flood control purposes and to serve as a water source for Dallas and its suburbs, but residents also use it for recreational purposes.
The Ashokan Reservoir is a reservoir in Ulster County, New York. It is at the eastern end of the Catskill Park, and is one of several in the region created to provide the City of New York with water. It is the city's deepest reservoir at 190 feet (58 m) near the dam at the former site of Bishop Falls.
Lake Hartwell is a man-made reservoir bordering Georgia and South Carolina and encompassing parts of the Savannah, Tugaloo, and Seneca rivers. Lake Hartwell is one of the largest recreation lakes in the Southeastern United States. It was created by the construction of the Hartwell Dam, completed in 1962 and located on the Savannah River seven miles (11 km) below the point where the Tugaloo and Seneca Rivers join to form the Savannah. Extending 49 miles (79 km) up the Tugaloo and 45 miles (72 km) up the Seneca at normal pool elevation, the lake comprises nearly 56,000 acres (230 km2) of water with a shoreline of 962 miles (1,548 km). The entire Hartwell reservoir project contains 76,450 acres (309 km2) of land and water. Interstate highway 85 bisects Lake Hartwell, making the area easily accessible to visitors.
Lake James is a large reservoir in the mountains of Western North Carolina which straddles the border between Burke and McDowell Counties. It is named for tobacco tycoon and benefactor of Duke University James Buchanan Duke. The lake, with surface elevation of 1200 ft, lies behind a series of 4 earthen dams. It was created by Duke Power between 1916 and 1923 as a hydro-electric project. It still generates power today and is the uppermost lake on the Catawba River system.
Richland-Chambers Reservoir is the third largest inland reservoir by surface area and the 8th largest reservoir by water volume in Texas formed by the impoundment of Richland Creek and Chambers Creek east-southeast of the town of Corsicana and south of Kerens, in Navarro County and Freestone County, Texas, USA. It has 330 miles (530 km) of shoreline and is Y-shaped with the dam on the eastern end of the lake.
Orange Creek is a small stream in north-central and northeast Florida, that drains Orange Lake to the Ocklawaha River. Privately owned Orange Springs provides part of the water volume.
McArthur Lake is a lake in Fort Liberty, North Carolina. It is a reservoir formed by an earth dam. The lake is used for recreational fishing.
Cane Creek is a 13.74 mi (22.11 km) long 4th order tributary to the Haw River, in Alamance and Orange Counties, North Carolina. This Cane Creek is on the left bank of the Haw River.
University Lake is a manmade freshwater lake in Carrboro, North Carolina. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill created the lake in 1932 by building two dams, at the confluence of the Morgan Creek, Phil's Creek, Neville Creek, Price Creek, and Pritchard's Mill Creek. Marshes occur where the creeks meet with the lake, and this serves as environment for wildlife such as various species of waterfowl. It was originally built to act as a water reservoir for UNC's campus, and the neighboring communities of Carrboro and Chapel Hill. Severe droughts in the 1960s and 1970s lowered the water level, and it soon became necessary for a new reservoir to be built to complement University Lake. It was the sole source of water to the Orange Water and Sewer Authority until the Cane Creek Reservoir was built. The lake is open in the summer for public fishing and recreation. The UNC women's rowing team also trains on the lake.
The Orange Water and Sewer Authority is a nonprofit public utility that provides water and sewage services to the Carrboro-Chapel Hill area. It gets its water from Cane Creek Reservoir, University Lake, and Quarry Reservoir. OWASA has 343 miles of water mains and 294 miles of sewers. Its water is treated at the Jones Ferry Road Water Treatment Plant.
Lake Orange is a freshwater reservoir in Cedar Grove, Orange County, North Carolina, located on the east fork of the Eno River. It is fed by Lick Creek. The lake was created in the 1960s, when five local farmers donated 205 acres of land to the county for the creation of a reservoir. It has an area of 150 acres. The invasive Hydrilla plant is thought to have gotten into the Eno via Lake Orange, where it was first discovered in the 1990s. It provides the town of Hillsborough, North Carolina with water. Lake Orange began to run low on water by 1993, and West Fork Eno Reservoir was constructed to provide additional water to the community.