DAM YOU
A very local story. The dam in Point (not “Points”) East is right across the street. I mean literally within a few feet of our house.
Residents around Points East Lake, off N.C. 87 near the Bladen County line, are in the same boat. In 2005, the state wanted the homeowners association to repair erosion around the emergency spillway.
According to Derrick Martin, president of the association, a homeowner with earth-moving equipment fixed the dam himself. In 2006, the state demanded an engineering study for the work that was done.
Martin said the association is broke and can’t afford the study. The dam’s rusted gates have been left open, he said, allowing the lake level to drop by half, because the association lacks the money to make repairs.
Nobody from Points East Lake is asking Cumberland County for assistance.
The county commissioners have intervened twice to save lakes: McFadyen Lake in the early 1990s before the city annexed it, and more recently Lake Upchurch, southwest of Hope Mills. Both times, the county paid for the projects up front and assessed the entire cost to lakefront homeowners.
The Points East Lake is on the state’s list of unresolved deficient dams. State inspectors say they try to coax dam owners to fix the structures, especially if a breach could cause property damage and deaths downstream.
2 Responses to “DAM YOU”
 Comment by NMcV December 2nd, 2007 at 10:52 pm |
Dams. Whoa. They are expensive enough to repair. let alone upgrade, without even mentioning government-mandated engineering reports. And really old dams may have no “owner” responsible for the brunt of the expense. The State of New Jersey did a lot of foot-dragging for many years, and what finally got the dam-repairs rolling in Burlington County was a night of 14 inches of rain, and more than 2 dozen dams overtopped or destroyed. The ensuing damages and lawsuits have raised our taxes so high that many just can’t afford to live here — or run thei businesses here — anymore. Fortunately, no one was killed. (There were close calls, with people climbing on the roofs of their stores and homes, and two siblings trapped for hours on the roof of their SUV, within sight but out of reach of rescuers.) Far cheaper for the State to pony up the cash and do the repairs… *before* the disaster. Daryl, I hope you have flood insurance. |
 Comment by MCFADYEN LAKE CONCERNED CITIZENS December 30th, 2007 at 11:54 am |
RESPONSE TO EDITORIAL PUBLISHED ON 12/24/07 As a property owner on “McFadyen Lake” , I take exception to the Editorial Published 12/ 24/ 2007 “Good moves: New dam-repair policy will use public funds judiciously.” McFadyen Lake is privately built and owned, members of the McFadyen Lake Association Inc have repayed the loan it received from the County (with interest) to upgrade and reconstruct the lake’s dam..Although it is a “benefit”for those who own property on the lake, it serves an even higher purpose as a stormwater shed. MEMBERSHIP IN THE ASSOCIATION is also accorded those who live in the surrounding neighborhoods, and ANY CITY OR COUNTY RESIDENT WHO WISHES TO JOIN!. Privately owned lakes within the city DO PROVIDE BENEFITS for the citizenry of the City and County, besides elevated tax values for those on the water, They are vital in achieving storm water discharges under the, the Clean Water Act 33U.S.C. §1251. The City’s new dam repair policy at first glance may appear to be an even-handed policy to govern taxpayer participation in dam repairs and replacement but IT FAILS TO ADDRESS MAINTAINANCE PROBLEMS they have created by sending storm water runoff to private lakes. McFadyen Lake is slowly filling with sediment, sent to it by the City Owned Drainage System, which encompasses an approximately 11 square mile watershed , heavily developed with business’s, residences and Streets We did not ask for this polluted water and those living around the lake feel that if the city creates it; then at a minimum they should aid us in reducing it’s affect and share in any financial cost associated with repairing damage caused by the effects of storm water run off. We will be proving::stormwater from the city is, and will, Damage this FLOOD CONTROL WATERSHED WHILE CAUSING UNDUE STRESS ON THE DAM. Ed Blanchard Jr./McFadyen Lake Concerned Citizens |