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HIGH SHOALS––Local officials are concerned that a dam near High Shoals mightn’t withstand future rainfall levels.

That’s the word Friday from Lincoln County Public Affairs Officer Vanessa León. As León informed, it was on Monday at 8 p.m. that Lincoln County Emergency Management received a call from Lincoln County Communications about a problem with a dam structure impounding Carpenters Lake. This is on Mirror Lake Road, located in southern Lincoln County.

Lincoln County Emergency Management personnel made an initial inspection of the dam that evening at 9 p.m. and discovered the dam’s emergency overflow pipe had eroded under Mirror Lake Road, thus compromising the road’s integrity. Half an hour later, personnel from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office closed Mirror Lake Road to through traffic. Emergency management personnel notified their counterparts in the North Carolina Department of Transportation. NCDOT personnel responded and installed permanent road barricades. Additional notifications were made to all emergency-responding agencies in Lincoln County.

León continued that Lincoln County Emergency Management personnel also notified the N.C. Emergency Management (or NCEM) State Warning Point, re concerns about the dam. Notified as well were members of the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality and N.C. Carolina Highway Patrol. The NCEM said the incident was deemed Priority I status until further investigation by the N.C. Department of the Environment and Natural Resources’ (or NCDENR) dam safety team Tuesday at 8 a.m., Lincoln County Emergency Management personnel revisited the location and contacted the NCDENR for a situation update. Three hours later, NCDENR Dam Safety personnel conducted an inspection of the dam.

León added that the NCDENR personnel “communicated to Lincoln County Emergency Management that the dam is not in immediate danger of failure.”

NCDENR Dam Safety personnel have contacted the owner to recommend immediate actions to mitigate further degradation of the dam’s structure. Said department’s staffers are concerned that additional rains or flooding could potentially weaken the structure, causing a dam failure.

The outflow drainage for this dam has the potential to affect properties in both Lincoln and Gaston Counties. Lincoln County officials are notifying potentially affected property owners in Lincoln County, south of Mirror Lake Road.

If you have concerns or questions, call the NCDENR Dam Safety Mooresville Regional Office at (704) 663-1699 or Lincoln County Emergency Management at (704) 736-8660.

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