State wants to drain Tanglewood

    Murphy – Concern over the integrity of Tanglewood Dam continues, as state officials sent a letter to Cherokee County earlier this month seeking help with draining Tanglewood Lake.
    “We are contacting you to request assistance from Emergency Management to help with emergency draining of the reservoir,” a letter from the N.C. Division of Energy, Mineral & Land Resources says. “DEMLR considers the unsatisfactory condition of this dam to represent an imminent threat to public safety at this time.”
    Tanglewood Lake is a manmade reservoir about 30 feet in height with about 100 acre-feet of storage, according to the letter obtained by the Cherokee Scout. There are holes in the drainage pipe, and “there’s a significant amount of seepage at the bottom” of the earthen dam, according to a state engineer who inspected the structure during the first week of January.
    Additionally, the barrel pipe at the base of the dam is clogged and may have been sabotaged, according to state officials, who say the issue poses a risk to properties downstream from the lake.
    “The reservoir is currently over-full, and water is continuously flowing across Tanglewood Drive,” the letter says. “DEMLR has issued a Dam Safety Order to the current owners of the dam to immediately drain the lake and either repair or breach the dam; however, the owners have indicated that they are financially unable to comply.”
    The state’s letter comes on the heels of a letter county officials sent to owners of seven properties downstream from the lake last month, warning them that the privately owned dam is an “imminent hazard to those persons and property in and around the inundation zone.”
    The latest letter from the state says, “The dam does not have an emergency action plan,” and additional properties outside that zone could be affected if the dam fails.
    “Please note that this [inundation] map only indicates potential flooding due to a crest-level sunny-day breach of the dam,” the letter says. “Additional areas could be inundated, and additional properties could be threatened depending on any antecedent streamflow or flooding that may be occurring prior to or during the dam failure.”
    At their Feb. 17 meeting, Cherokee County commissioners voted to deny the request to help drain the lake because the county would also be accepting liability for any issues if government officials were involved. Moreover, the cost to drain the lake with siphons or pumps would be at the expense of county taxpayers.