Editorials - 01/23/03

Removing dam at Dillsboro is not in town's best interest

Dillsboro's mayor and town board members, after considering recommendations from town residents, all oppose the removal of Dillsboro's almost 100-year-old dam and power plant.

Elimination of the dam is just one component of a 30-plus point "trial balloon" presented by Duke Power Co. officials last March, but it is the idea that has received the most attention.

And rightly so, for the other portions of the proposal deal with more easily negotiated items like lake levels and stream flows, installation of river information gauges and building additional recreation facilities on power company-owned land.

Dismantling a dam and power generation system that have existed for almost a century and are located in the corporate limits of a thriving tourist town is a different story.

Removing the dam may benefit some species of fish and wildlife, but it could negatively impact others that have managed to adapt to the dam's presence. The dam is located in a developed area, and its elimination cannot restore that section of the river to a pristine state - not with a sewage treatment facility just upstream and heavily-traveled paved roads lining both banks.

Dillsboro's dam is unique in that it's a rare juxtaposition of industrial development and charm. Its picturesque old powerhouse enhances Dillsboro's picture-postcard charm and makes visitors' first glimpse of the tiny hamlet a memorable one.

While the Dillsboro hydroelectric project is now Duke's smallest (and the second-smallest FERC licensed generating plant in the state), its historical significance is enormous.

The first dam in Dillsboro was built in 1909 by early entrepreneur and industrialist C.J. Harris, who harnessed the river's power to provide electricity for his Harris-Rees Tannery in Sylva and to illuminate the streets of both towns.

Harris's first wooden dam gave way in 1913, but a new one was in place the following year; construction of the present dam followed in 1927.

By the 1950s, power lines ran from Dillsboro to all of Sylva as well as to Sunset Farms in Wilmot, along Scotts Creek to Woodfin Creek, Rolling Green, Webster and up Savannah to Sutton Branch.

Nantahala Power & Light Co. (Duke Power purchased NP&L in 1988; the former NP&L service area is now known as the Nantahala Area of Charlotte-based Duke Power) purchased the Dillsboro dam and power plant from the Dillsboro and Sylva Electric Co. in 1957. It is the only one of Duke's six Jackson County generating facilities that was built to serve local needs; the Aluminum Co. of America built the others - Thorpe, East Fork, Bear Creek, Cedar Cliffs and Tuckasegee - primarily to provide power to its plant in Alcoa, Tenn.

Removal of the dam and the elimination of its generating capacity would deprive Dillsboro and Jackson County of an important link to the past.

We believe a better course would be for the power company and Dillsboro to use the tiny electric plant as a point of pride - a working museum that could teach visitors about non-polluting hydroelectric generation and its associated benefits.

We agree with Dillsboro's leaders about the importance of the dam to the town and hope it is not lost as part of Duke's relicensing efforts.

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