Fayetteville dam, damaged by Hurricane Matthew, to be replaced for $8.75 million
The state and federal government plan to spend about $8.75 million to replace the blown-out dam on Rhodes Pond, a northeastern Cumberland County lake that was a popular recreation spot.
Posted — Updated
The Federal Emergency Management Agency will pay about $6.4 million of the cost while North Carolina is to put in the rest with state money and money from a federal grant, said Public Affairs Specialist Ryan Kennemur with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.
The state hopes that the dam will be rebuilt next year, but no timeline has been set, said David Varel, the capital projects coordinator for the wildlife commission.
The Wildlife Resources Commission owns Rhodes Pond, which is on U.S. 301 near Godwin, about a 25- to 35-minute drive from Fayetteville.
The dam on the 461-acre lake was in the middle of a reconstruction project last year when October’s Hurricane Matthew dumped 15 inches of rain in the area and filled the empty lake bed.
The storm gouged a hole in the dam about 50 to 60 feet across and breached it in several other places, Varel said.
The new dam will have a labyrinth spillway made of concrete and designed to withstand severe weather to avoid downstream flooding, he said.
