Duke Energy dam work will close Mount Holly park until 2026
A popular recreation area in Mount Holly will close to the public for several years beginning Wednesday, Sept. 7.
Mountain Island Tailrace Access Area and Mountain Island Park will not re-open until early 2026 to allow Duke Energy to make repairs to Mountain Island Dam, according to a release from Duke Energy.
Duke Energy will work with the city of Mount Holly to establish alternative access to the trail system that runs south of Mountain Island Lake Park at Mount Holly.
That access will utilize a combination of city and Duke Energy owned properties and will be available in early 2023, providing access for pedestrians and bicycles to the trails south of the park.
Visitors will not be able to access the fishing platform or other park facilities immediately downstream of the dam due to safety concerns during construction, according to a release from Duke Energy.
“Both the city of Mount Holly and N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission are wonderful partners, and we will continue to work with them to establish alternative access to the trail system that runs south of Mountain Island Lake Park at Mount Holly,” said Duke Energy project manager Jennifer Bennett. “We are hopeful that access will be available early next year.”
Duke Energy expects to spend $89 million to enhance the seismic resiliency of the earth embankment dam based on guidelines from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. A compacted earth-fill berm will be constructed on the back (downstream) side of the existing earth embankment dam. After construction the earth dam will essentially look the same; it will have more soil added to the downstream side, making it wider.
“We will complete a maintenance project on the Mountain Island earth embankment dam to ensure the dam continues to meet all federal guidelines for dam safety,” said Brad Keaton, Duke Energy’s chief dam safety engineer. “The upgrades will also ensure that Mountain Island hydro station and Mountain Island Lake continue providing safe and reliable electricity, water supply and public recreation in the future.”
Mountain Island Lake serves as a water supply source for more than 1 million people, including residents of Gastonia, Mount Holly and Charlotte.
Mountain Island Tailrace Fishing Area and Park also provides public access to the waters of the Mountain Island Tailrace.
The tailrace fishing platforms were constructed and opened in the mid-1990s. Mount Holly began leasing Mountain Island Park at Mount Holly from Duke Energy in 2000 and developed the existing park facilities shortly thereafter.
Since then, Mount Holly has extended the trail, and additional trail facilities have been added to the adjoining Mount Holly property. Prior to the development of recreational facilities the property was used for hydroelectric project related construction and operations.
Mountain Island Dam is a part of the Mountain Island Hydro project which includes the dam and the powerhouse. The dam was built and completed in the early 1920s, creating Mountain Island Lake.
The powerhouse became operational in 1923 and has four generating units with a capacity of 62 MW which can produce enough clean, renewable hydropower to power close to 50,000 average homes.
You can reach Kevin Ellis at 704-201-7016 or email him at kellis@gastongazette.com.
This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Duke Energy dam work will close Mount Holly park until 2026
