Town of Lake Lure - Lake Restoration Updates

The US Army U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wilmington Districts of Engineers (USACE) in coordination with AshBritt Environmental and many local contractors continue efforts to remove debris, silt, and sedimentation from Lake Lure. They are making significant progress but this important work continues. This is the latest update on their progress as of 6/13/25.

• 376,000 tons of silt/sediment removal (+62,000 Tons).

• 46,744 cubic yards of debris from the waterway (+4.442 CY).

This is the largest amount of silt and sedimentation removed in one week so far....62,000 tons! That's enough to fill 25 Olympic swimming pools! Here is some additional information to help you visualize the process and the progress:

• 140 trucks are working on any given day.

• The average truck holds 25 tons.

• About 330 truck loads are removed on average each day.

Crews are working 7 days a week, 12 hours a day to complete the mission which we anticipate will continue throughout the summer months, potentially into the fall. This is a dynamic process and we do not have a definitive timeline for completion at this time.

The Lake is currently lower than it has ever been since it was built. The photo shown was taken this week and illustrates the level of the lake. The reservoir drain is allowing Town staff to lower the lake beyond the limits of the Tainter gates which are normally used to control the lake level. Our current gauges cannot measure the lake level. It has to be measured manually.

The lake is at this lower level for the ongoing work with the US Army Corps of Engineers and AshBritt Environmental for subsurface debris, silt, and sedimentation. As we have been reporting in our weekly storm recovery updates, the lake level will be coming down significantly.

• The current plan is to continue dropping the lake level around 1-1.5 feet per day.

• The Lake will be lowered to about 960.5 MSL, which is 30 feet below full pond of 990.5 MSL.

• We anticipate reaching this level by the end of next week, depending on weather conditions.

• Throughout the lake drawdown, Town engineers and staff will be scheduling work and inspections on the dam and the sewer system.

• Please note that the boat ramp at the Lake Lure Dam is for official town use only.

This is an important step in the recovery process for Lake Lure. We are unable to specify the length of the drawdown period as this is dependent upon the sedimentation and debris removal process being overseen by the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Lake Use in 2025

Lake Lure is currently a federal job site and only approved contractors, and staff may be in the lake. This is for everyone’s safety.

• Motorized and non-motorized vessels, as well as swimming, are not permitted this season.

• The Lake has been lowered to support the lake restoration process overseen by USACE.

• The Lake may remain at a lower level beyond the lake restoration process for work on subaqueous utilities.

We appreciate everyone's support as our storm recovery continues. For questions, please contact Communications@townoflakelure.com.