Lake Levels

Real Time Lake Levels

February 10, 2020

As planned,  the Town will began filling Lake Lure on Monday, 2/10/20.  The timeline for filling the Lake back to full pond will depend upon the amount of rain received over the next several days. Though it was difficulty to have the lake down since December 2019, please take a moment to read about all the work that was completed during this time.

1. Penstock Rehabilitation: The Town conducted a full structural rehabilitation of the penstock, which is the enclosed pipe that delivers water to the hydro-electric plant turbines.  The purpose of this project was to  rehabilitate this valuable asset and restore its service life to over 50 years.  

2. Infrared Thermography Conducted: Infrared thermography is applied for dam surface monitoring. The infrared thermal imager is a nondestructive testing method for determining internal material changes by examining surface changes in radiation temperature. No issues were found.

3. Breaker Testing: All manufacturer recommended testing was conducted on our medium voltage breakers.  No issues were found.

4. Butterfly Valve Rehabilitation: The butterfly valves help ensure safe operation of the generators. The interior components of the butterfly valves have been repaired.  Both butterfly valves were cycled completely and found to be functional.  Both baffles were blasted and coated with an epoxy coating.       

5. Gear Adjustments Made: Adjustments were made to gearing for the large valve and both bypass valves were installed.

6. Intake Structure Repaired: The Dam’s intake structure has been inspected and a small leak was repaired.  The intake can seals and seat all looked good. These seals were replaced about 5 years ago.

7. Tainter Gates Inspected and Strengthened: An inspection was made of the Tainter gates on the Dam.  The Tainter gate is a type of radial arm floodgate used in dams to control water flow.  New lift cables were installed on all 3 gates.

8. Hydro-electric Plant Generator Repaired: The lower bearing in the large generator was replaced.  An overspeed test was conducted on this generator.  No issues were identified.   

9. Intake Drum Gate Hoist Replacement: The new hoist was ordered and the replacement will be completed in March after the Lake is full , a requirement for this work to be completed.

10. Sewer System Repair: A sewer system valve was installed while the Lake levels were down and it is now fully operational. 

Important Lake Level and Marina/Boardwalk Updates

1/17/20

The Town began refilling the Lake on 1/10/20.  The Lake is currently at the Town’s target level of 6 feet below full pond as of 1/17/20.  The plan is to maintain this level so dredging and additional projects can be completed this month.  

The target date to begin raising the Lake back to full pond is still February 10, 2020.  Updates will be shared here as soon as those details are confirmed.  Please see the following update on the plans for the replacement of the Lake Lure Boardwalk, Marina and other projects.  (The drawing on the right is a futuristic illustration of what the Boardwalk/Marina could look like if further construction takes place.)  Thank you for your support of these enhancements to our infrastructure and our Town assets.

Marina/Boardwalk Updates: Replacing the Boardwalk is vitally important as it has reached the end of its useful life.  We want to do everything we can to ensure safety on our Boardwalk.   We are pleased to share the news that tax dollars are not funding this project.  The Marina/Boardwalk project will pay for itself while generating extra revenue for the Town.  Revenue will be generated by those who lease slips in the Marina.  Additionally, a portion of the cost for the new Boardwalk is being covered through a grant with the Rutherford County Tourism Development Authority (TDA).  

The new Boardwalk will connect the new Marina with all parts of the Lake Lure Town Center including Pool Creek Park, the Lake Lure Beach, Morse Park, and the Lake Lure Flowering Bridge.   By expanding the Marina and combining this work with the Boardwalk replacement as one project, the Town was able to replace the deteriorating Boardwalk without placing the costs on Lake Lure Tax Payers.   Creatively connecting the Boardwalk to the new Marina will give boaters, citizens, and tourists safe access throughout Lake Lure’s beautiful Town Center.

The new Marina and Boardwalk are being constructed off site and will be installed after the demolition is finished.  The service provider is under contract to have this work completed by May 22, 2020, just before Memorial Day Weekend.  

Dredging:  When the lake is lowered, it illustrates the critical need for ongoing dredging to maintain Lake Lure.  During the Lake drawdown, dredging is focused in the Marina area and will be shifting to the main channel when lake comes back up in February 2020.  Ongoing dredging is required to maintain all lakes and it is budgeted in Lake Lure’s Capital Improvement Plan.

Morse Park: An additional project is underway to expand the Morse Park event space for development of a future outdoor amphitheater.  Be sure to notice the work that has taken place to enhance the lawn (and view) between Morse Park and the Broad River, by removing the excess materials. (The drawing shown here illustrates an amphitheater in a similar setting.)

The following schedule outlines the Town’s timeline moving forward.  As noted in the 1/9/20 update, the Town of Lake Lure received fund approval from the Local Government Commission (LGC) on January 10, 2020, which allowed these projects to move forward. Updates will be provided if these timelines require adjustment, or as new information becomes available.

1/10/20:  Lake began to be raised.  The plan was to raise the lake to 6 feet below full pond and this level was achieved by 1/15/20.  The plan for now is to hold the Lake level at 6 feet below full pond until 2/10/20.   Updates will be posted here if there is a change in this plan.

1/10/20: Lake Lure Boardwalk Demolition Began

1/15/20 – 5/22/20: Assembly of new Boardwalk/Marina.  Note: The new Marina and Boardwalk are being constructed off site and will be installed by 5/22/20.

4/7/20:  Projected delivery of new floating aluminum docks. Assembly will occur immediately upon delivery.

5/22/20:  Projected completion date.  The goal is to install the replacement Marina/Boardwalk before the spring season kicks off.  The contractor is under contract to have this complete by May 22, 2020 just before Memorial Day Weekend. 

Town Manager Shannon Baldwin stated, “I could not be more pleased with the way Parks, Recreation and Lake Director Dean Givens and Public Works Director David Arrowood are managing their areas of responsibility.  They make things happen.”

Important Lake Level Updates

1/9/20

Beautiful photo courtesy of the talented Buddy Morrison.  

The Lake Lure Town Council approved lowering the lake in December 2019 to support maintenance and repair of critical infrastructure projects.   Additionally, the Town historically lowers the Lake to allow lakefront property owners the opportunity to repair and maintain lake structures.  

On January 10, 2020, the Town will begin raising the Lake from the current level of 12 feet below full pond.  The Lake will be raised to 6 feet below full pond for further work that can be done at this level.  Plans are still to raise the lake back to full pond in February and updates will be shared here as soon as those details are confirmed.  Please see the following overview of work that has taken place while the lake has been lowered this year.  Thank you for your support of these efforts.

1. Penstock Rehabilitation: The Town conducted a level IV rehabilitation of the Penstock, which is an enclosed pipe that delivers water to the hydro-electric plant turbines.  This project included a full structural rehabilitation using a product called QuakeWrap, a Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) product. The purpose of this project was to rehabilitate this valuable asset and restore its service life to over 50 years.  

2. Infrared Thermography Conducted: Infrared thermography is applied fordam surface monitoring. Using an infrared thermal imager is a nondestructive testing method for determining internal material changes by examining surface changes in radiation temperature. No issues were found.

3. Breaker Testing: All manufacturer recommended testing was conducted on our medium Voltage Breakers.  No issues were found.

4. Butterfly Valve Rehabilitation: The butterfly valves help ensure safe operation of the generators. The interior components of the butterfly valves have been repaired.  Both butterfly valves were cycled completely and found to be functional. Both baffles were blasted and coated with an epoxy coating.       

5. Gear Adjustments Made: Adjustments were made to gearing for the large valve and both bypass valves have been installed.

6. Intake Structure Repaired: The Dam’s Intake Structure has been inspected and a small leak has been repaired.  The intake can seals and seat all looked good. These seals were replaced about 5 years ago.

7. Tainter Gates Inspected and Strengthened: An inspection was made of the Tainter gates on theDam. The Tainter gate is a type of radial arm floodgate used in dams to control water flow.  New lift cables have been installed on all 3 gates .

8. Hydro-electric Plant Generator Repaired: The lower bearing in the large generator has been replaced.  An overspeed test was conducted on this generator.  No issues were identified.   

9. Intake Drum Gate Hoist Replacement: The hoist has been ordered and the replacement will be completed in March. Note: The Lake has to be full for this work to be completed.

10. Lake Front Property Owners were able to make repairs and enhancements to their property.

Thank you to our community for supporting the lake drawdown so these critical infrastructure projects could be completed.