Walters Dam | |
---|---|
Country | United States |
Location | Haywood County, North Carolina |
Status | Operational |
Opening date | 1930 |
Operator(s) | Duke Energy |
Reservoir | |
Creates | Waterville Lake |
Normal elevation | 2,257 ft (688 m) [1] |
Walters Dam, also known locally as the Waterville Dam, is a hydroelectric dam in Haywood County of western North Carolina, in the Great Smoky Mountains.
The concrete arch dam is 180 ft (55 m) high by 800 ft (240 m) long, impounding the Pigeon River, near Interstate 40. The brick powerplant actually stands 6.2 miles (10.0 km) from the dam. A tunnel 6.2 miles (10.0 km) long stretches north from the dam to the power plant, near the state line. [2]
Construction of the dam began in 1927 and was completed in 1930. The project was started by Carolina Power & Light and was completed by its affiliate Phoenix Electric Co. The Carolina Power and Light Company established the community of Waterville at the mountain's northern base, near the confluence of Big Creek and the Pigeon River. Waterville provided the labor force needed to operate the company's Walters Plant, which housed the powerhouse for the Waterville Lake reservoir further upstream.
It was designated as a North Carolina Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1980. As of 2024 the dam was owned and operated by Duke Energy as an active hydroelectric facility, with a rated capacity of 112 MW. [3]
On September 27, 2024, during an episode of heavy rainfall and severe flooding caused by Hurricane Helene, the dam was reported by officials in neighbouring Cocke County to have "suffered a catastrophic failure". Evacuations were issued for downstream communities, including Newport, Tennessee. These reports were confirmed by Duke Energy to have been false. [4]
Cocke County is a county on the eastern border of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 35,999. Its county seat is Newport. Cocke County comprises the Newport, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the Knoxville-Morristown-Sevierville, Tennessee Combined Statistical Area.
Lake Lure is a town in Rutherford County, North Carolina, United States. In 2020 the town population was 1,365. Lake Lure was incorporated in 1927, and acquired the lake after which it is named in 1965.
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The Pigeon River of Western North Carolina and East Tennessee rises above Canton, North Carolina, is impounded by Walters Dam, enters Tennessee, and flows into the French Broad River, just past Newport, Tennessee. The river traverses the Pisgah National Forest and the Cherokee National Forest, and drains much of the northeastern Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
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Duke Energy Corporation is an American electric power and natural gas holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company ranked as the 141st largest company in the United States in 2024 – its highest-ever placement on the Fortune 500 list.
Lake Tillery is a reservoir between Falls Reservoir and Blewett Falls Lake in the Uwharrie Lakes Region of North Carolina. It is entirely within Stanly County and Montgomery County, NC. The lake was created by impounding the Pee Dee River, which is created by the confluence of the Yadkin River and the Uwharrie River several miles to the north. Norwood, NC in neighboring Stanly County uses as its town motto "Gateway to Lake Tillery".
Cowans Ford Hydroelectric Station is a hydroelectric power plant and dam located near Huntersville, North Carolina, approximately 20 miles north of Charlotte on Lake Norman. It is the largest conventional hydro station owned by Duke Energy, generating up to 350 MW of power.
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Apalachia Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Hiwassee River in Cherokee County, in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The dam is the lowermost of three dams on the river owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the early 1940s to provide emergency power for aluminum production during World War II. While the dam is in North Carolina, an 8.3-mile (13.4 km) underground conduit carries water from the dam's reservoir to the powerhouse located 12 miles (19 km) downstream across the state line in Polk County, Tennessee. The dam and associated infrastructure were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017. Apalachia Dam is classified by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a high-hazard dam, meaning a dam failure may pose a deadly threat to nearby residents. The dam's condition is not made available to the public due to security concerns.
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The following is a list of events of the year 2024 in Tennessee.