Duke Power Flow Release

[Reginald Hanfy]

DukeEnergy has nearly completed construction work on the significant recreational and environmental enhancements at Great Falls Reservoir. The project returns water to two river channels that were dewatered when the Great Falls Hydro Station was constructed in 1907, restoring habitat for aquatic life and creating recreational opportunities for the public.

Modification of the dam that creates the long bypass river channel includes the creation of two release points for flow. One will be used to provide a continuous flow for improving aquatic habitat downstream of the diversion dam as well as recreational flow. The other entrance will be used only for flow for recreational use, helping to provide a safe access route into the river for boaters who wish to navigate the more than 2 miles of the downstream river channel. This original section of the river contains Class II and III rapids.

Farther south on Great Falls Reservoir, pneumatically controlled steel gates have been installed on more than 500 feet of the short bypass concrete dams to provide aquatic flow releases, recreation flow releases and flood management. This section of river will be accessed from the Great Falls canoe/kayak access trail on Mountain Island. The river section downstream of this area is approximately 0.75 mile long, and the recreation flow releases will have a rapid flow of water that is expected to create Class III and IV rapids for advanced paddlers.

Beginning spring of 2023, those wishing to enjoy these recreational opportunities should view scheduled recreation flow releases by visiting duke-energy.com/lakes. Recreational releases are scheduled from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is important to note that water will rise quickly in the bypass channel.

The public can access the long bypass reach from the Nitrolee Access Area, also opening March 18. In addition to parking, restrooms and boat access, the Nitrolee site features an interpretive center about the remains of the original historic Arc Building that was part of the early 1900s Nitrolee fertilizer plant. The site, which is owned by the Katawba Valley Land Trust and leased to Duke Energy, is planned to be connected to the lower Great Falls sites by the Carolina Thread Trail.

Other recreational improvements will be added to further support the Great Falls flow release project in the coming years. The South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism also plans to open a new state park later this decade on Dearborn Island at Great Falls. In addition to the new state park, Duke Energy will be constructing a pedestrian bridge to the island as well as two additional canoe/kayak access areas along with other planned improvements to better support the user experiences.

All these public recreational and environmental enhancements were part of the vision for the river and lake system that was negotiated and included in the Comprehensive Relicensing Agreement, a binding contract signed in 2006 by 70 parties to guide relicensing of Duke Energy's Catawba-Wateree Hydro Project.

Duke Energy Carolinas, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns 20,100 megawatts of energy capacity, supplying electricity to 2.8 million residential, commercial and industrial customers across a 24,000-square-mile service area in North Carolina and South Carolina.

Duke Energy is executing an aggressive clean energy transition to achieve its goals of net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business and at least a 50% carbon reduction from electric generation by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The 2050 net-zero goals also include Scope 2 and certain Scope 3 emissions. In addition, the company is investing in major electric grid enhancements and energy storage, and exploring zero-emission power generation technologies such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear.

Despite its natural beauty, the town of Great Falls, S.C., has been economically depressed since its textile mills closed in the 1980s. Tourism is expected to rise, however, as a result of new whitewater runs, a state park, hiking trails and other projects at Great Falls Reservoir.

One of two whitewater runs, the long bypass river channel, is open to the public during scheduled flow releases. It is a free community resource that will complement a diverse mix of other recreation in the coming years, said Christy Churchill, recreation project manager at Duke Energy.

As part of its Catawba-Wateree license, issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Duke Energy enhanced public recreation, as well as habitat for fish and other aquatic life, a collaborative process with stakeholders in communities where its hydro facilities are located.

Kayakers, paddlers and others who wish to navigate the long bypass river channel, a 2.25-mile downstream channel with rapids the paddling community has classified as Class II and III rapids, during scheduled flow releases can do so through the Nitrolee Access Area.

Farther south on Great Falls Reservoir, pneumatically controlled steel gates were installed to provide aquatic flows, recreation flow releases and flood management. The .75-mile short bypass river channel will have a faster flow of water than the long bypass river channel, creating rapids for skilled paddlers.

Duke Energy said public access to a portion of the enhancement project completed at its 24 MW Great Falls hydro facility will open on March 18, with scheduled recreation flow releases and the opening of the Nitrolee Access Area.

Modification of the dam that creates the long bypass river channel includes the creation of two release points for flow. One will be used to provide continuous flow for improving aquatic habitat downstream of the diversion dam, as well as recreational flow.

The other entrance will be used only for flow for recreational use, helping to provide a safe access route into the river for boaters who wish to navigate the more than 2 miles of the downstream river channel. This original section of the river contains Class II and III rapids.

On Great Falls Reservoir, pneumatically controlled steel gates have been installed on more than 500 feet of the short bypass concrete dams to provide aquatic flow releases, recreation flow releases and flood management. This river section will be accessed from the Great Falls canoe/kayak access trail on Mountain Island. The river section downstream of this area is about 0.75 mile long, and the recreation flow releases will have a flow of water that is expected to create Class III and IV rapids for advanced paddlers.

In addition to parking, restrooms and boat access, the Nitrolee Access Area features an interpretive center about the remains of the Arc Building that was part of the early 1900s Nitrolee fertilizer plant. The site, which is owned by the Katawba Valley Land Trust and leased to Duke Energy, is to be connected to the lower Great Falls sites by the Carolina Thread Trail.

Other recreational improvements will be added to further support the Great Falls flow release project in the coming years, Duke Energy said. The South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism also plans to open a new state park later this decade on Dearborn Island at Great Falls. In addition, Duke Energy will construct a pedestrian bridge to the island and two additional canoe/kayak access areas along with other planned improvements to better support the user experiences.

Duke Energy is executing a clean energy transition to achieve its goals of net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business and at least a 50% carbon reduction from electric generation by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Great Falls Reservoir is the site of re-diversion of the Catawba River in South Carolina. The work grew out of a negotiated stakeholder agreement and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license for the Catawba-Wateree Hydroelectric Project to restore aquatic habitats while providing recreation access to the natural whitewater river channels. The Great Falls Reservoir is one of eleven developments on the river that make up the Catawba-Wateree Hydroelectric Project (The Project).

In order to provide public access to these channels, the effort required the construction of a large access area; additionally, the remains of a building once part of a fertilizer complex constructed in 1910 were rehabilitated.

The team was challenged by the task of restoring flow releases and access to the LBR and SBR, as the channels had been mostly dry since 1907. The solution involved extensive hydraulic engineering analysis and modeling, legal and regulatory assessments, state and federal permitting, and construction efforts on land and water.

In Part One (Oct/Nov issue), Ben Williamson explained the history of hydroelectric energy in western North Carolina, including its profound impact on World War II. Initially the hydroelectric sites served the primary function of electric generation. However, as Duke Energy worked to relicense each of these products, the objectives broadened. Part Two discusses the public and its interests, and how Duke Energy plans to proceed in the FERC relicensing process. Hydro power allows Duke Energy to both provide electricity and support communities.

Each license regulates how the utility operates. For example, there are maximum and minimum lake level limits along with times and flow rates for scheduled recreational flow releases. Duke Energy maintains a website, www.duke-energy.com/lakes, where all this information can be found. The lakes also help manage flooding events, and the stations help the company prepare and respond to them.

The recreation component of these projects is never more apparent than in western North Carolina. An entire industry relies on the predictable recreation flow releases, and the lake and river access areas required by the licenses and stakeholder agreements. Visits to the river and lakes have only increased in recent years as people rediscovered the outdoors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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