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Fall floodwaters damaged power plants
With continuing coverage of the efforts of state lawmakers to put together a flood relief package for Jackson and other Western North Carolina counties, the damage caused when Hurricanes Frances and Ivan roared through in September remains in the news.
In the deluge of stories that followed the storms, one that we missed here at The Herald was the harm floodwaters did to several of Duke Power’s generating facilities. While the power company’s lakes have been unofficially credited with playing a major role in preventing the Tuckaseigee from inflicting the same level of damage on Jackson that the Pigeon did on Haywood, it was not without cost to their associated powerhouses and generators.
While Duke District Manager Fred Alexander couldn’t verify it, he said he believes last fall’s flooding was the first that actually caused damage to the Thorpe plant since Jackson County’s great flood of August 1940 slowed its construction. He also said it was the first time in his 24 years here that any of the East Fork project’s three plants suffered storm damage.
Dillsboro, on the other hand, which is still out of commission, had been hit before: 1940’s floodwaters swept away its powerhouse. That was back in the days when it was still owned by the Dillsboro and Sylva Electric Co., which was purchased in 1957 by Nantahala Power & Light Co., which was itself purchased by Duke in 1988.
Duke is currently working on a plan for the repair of Dillsboro’s power plant, but Alexander said returning that generator to service isn’t a high priority due to its low output – a big V-8 engine in a Ford F-150 puts out about the same amount of horsepower, he said. Damage was caused when the raging river’s waters and debris swept through the powerhouse, according to Alexander.
Duke’s largest Jackson County power-producer was also hit by Hurricane Ivan. When the storm hit during the night of Sept. 16-17, the Thorpe plant had to be shut down to prevent damage to the generator. Water and mud from the tailrace (discharge area) were beginning to back up into the plant, Alexander said. Thorpe, located on the Tuckaseigee’s West Fork, produces 15,500 kW and was back online in about two weeks after Duke personnel completed cleanup and testing.
The power company operates three generating plants on the Tuckaseigee’s East Fork, and Hurricane Frances put two of them out of commission for a few days. Generators at both the Tanassee Creek and Cedar Cliff, the highest and the lowest, respectively, were flooded. The two plants were shut down for several days for cleaning and inspection, but no significant damage was found, Alexander said. The third East Fork plant, Bear Creek, was not affected during either Frances or Ivan.
The three plants and four lakes that supply water to them were built during the early 1950s. Their combined electrical output is 23,050 kW.
One thing Alexander mentioned was that none of Duke’s dams sustained any flood-related damage.
“The dams all came through with flying colors,” he said.
While we were on the subject of local lakes and dams, Alexander said readers might be interested in knowing that Duke’s East Fork lakes – Cedar Cliff, Bear Creek, Wolf Creek and Tanassee Creek – had lower water levels – 20 to 25 feet below full – during part of this month and last to allow inspection of the floodgate seals at the dams.
All the floodgates operated in response to the high stream flows during the September hurricanes, and Duke is inspecting the seals both as a precaution and to satisfy a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission requirement. The company plans to inspect the seals at Lake Glenville later this winter when stream flows are lower.
Anyone interested in Jackson County lake levels can access that information either via a toll-free number (1-866-332-5253) or by visiting online at www.nantahalapower.com and clicking on “Lakes and Recreation.”
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