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The privately-owned Ridgecrest Pond Dam in Buncombe County is a recreational dam in poor condition, classified as high hazard by the state. And now, along with at least 10 other dams in western North Carolina, Ridgecrest could either get repaired or come down completely.
The North Carolina General Assembly allocated $20 million to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality in the state's recently passed budget to remove and repair aging dams like Ridgecrest.
Erin McCombs, who works for the river advocacy organization American Rivers, said she applauds the decision, especially because Hurricane Helene caused immense damage to already-aging dams.
“In terms of the scale of the problem, over 40 dams failed or were damaged in Helene,” McCombs said. That number doesn't include the unknown total of dams that were impacted, because the state only tracks dams under a certain size.
In an emailed statement, DEQ told BPR that the Dam Safety Grant Program has already earmarked support for other dams in the region, such as Laurel Lakes Dam in Rutherford County and Lady Marian Dam in McDowell County.
“Dam owners, not DEQ, determine whether a dam should be repaired or breached following DEQ’s governing rules and laws,” read the statement.
During Helene, McCombs said, aging dams like Lake Craig on the Swannanoa River in East Asheville, and Capitola Dam in Marshall, may have contributed to the ultimate scale of Helene’s damage.
Capitola was built in 1905, for the Capitola Manufacturing Co. Cotton Yarn Mill which is no longer there. McCombs said the dam is not designed for flood control. During Helene it directed debris and floodwater toward the town.
Lake Craig is also a century old and was built to power Asheville, but is no longer needed for that purpose. Debris collected against Lake Craig as record-high floodwaters washed down the Swannanoa in September 2024.
Some scientists favor dam removal because of the structures’ long-term impacts on ecosystems, said Bill McClarney, the senior scientist and aquatic program specialist at Mainspring Conservation Trust.
When you dam a river, McClarney said, you isolate species from one another, food sources, and migratory paths. “You fragment, you impede the flow of nutrients, you impede the flow of genetic material, you create two separate environments.”
Lakes also tend to be warmer than rivers, harming cold water fish populations, especially as climate change warms regional streams.
Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme rainfall, meaning these aging dams may continue to be tested by record flood events.
McClarney said that dam removal is a costly and complex process, and that failing removal, he supports rigorous maintenance. “There's a lot of dams that probably shouldn't be taken out right away,” he said.
Proper decommissioning takes years of careful planning, as improper dam removal can release sediment and change ecosystems abruptly.
North Carolina has over 7,000 dams, with 194 high hazard dams in poor condition.
Dams cited in the budget for potential repair and removal include:
- Lake Coffey Dam, Caldwell County
- Mill Pond Dam, Avery County
- Big Hungry River Dam, Henderson County
- Tuxedo Hydroelectric Dam, Henderson County
- Capitola Dam, Madison County
- Henry River Dam, Burke County
- Ridgecrest Pond Dam, Buncombe County
- Moravian Camp Lake Dam, Ashe County
- Lake Junaluska Dam, Haywood County
- Roaring Gap Club Lake Dam, Allegheny County
