Dillsboro Dam starts to come down
Duke Energy has begun removing the Dillsboro Dam.
Work began at 9 a.m. Wednesday (Feb. 3) as a hoe-ram, an attachment on the end of a trackhoe arm that works like a large-size jackhammer, began notching the north (powerhouse) side of the 12-foot-high, 216-foot-wide dam.
While the dam is removed – only by mechanical means – water samples will be taken above and below the dam, and Duke will be allowed to work only when the sediment level is acceptable, according to Fred Alexander, Duke’s district manager for government and community relations. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will monitor dam demolition, which Alexander said is expected to be completed by March 31. Duke will lower the reservoir level through a series of notches in the dam that will draw down the pond about 3 feet at a time.
Duke has agreed to dismantle the current concrete Dillsboro Dam, built in 1927 (the original dam was constructed at the same site in 1913), as mediation for its larger hydroelectric power plants on the East and West forks of the Tuckaseigee River.
Jackson County opposed dam removal but lost its five-year legal battle with Duke Jan. 11 when Superior Court Judge Zoro Guice sided with the power company. Commissioners Jan. 19 decided not to appeal that ruling.
– Herald photos and videos by Nick Breedlove
