Tropical Storm Helene caused catastrophic flooding in Polk County, particularly affecting the Green River and Lake Adger.

The flooding from upriver led to a substantial amount of debris, sediment and other storm-related materials that were deposited into Lake Ager.

Lake Adger spans roughly 438 acres and is an important part of the water system in the region. Surveys of the lake have shown that there is a sediment depth increase of approximately 2-9’. The contractors for the project will be removing approximately 512,000 cubic yards of sediment and an estimated 8,500 cubic yards of vegetative and C&D material to restore Lake Adger to it’s pre-storm condition.

The contractor will be utilizing barge-mounted and pontoon-based equipment to remove the subsurface debris. Sediment will be placed in the temporary offload site, for decanting, drying and testing prior to loading on dump trucks for final disposal at NC DEQ approved final disposal sites.

During construction access to launch at the lake will be limited to weekends from 6-8am and 6-8pm. A turbidity curtain that will be placed at the edge of the construction area, that will be opened during those times to allow access. Boat access will also be limited to certain areas of the lake outside the sediment removal work areas, which include portions of the bays, coves and channels.

This North Carolina Emergency Management and FEMA funded project is expected to be completed in nine to 12 months.

For more information about this, check out this website: https://www.polknc.gov/emergency_management_fire_marshal/lake_adger_fema_project.php