Fontana Dam – When the entire tax base of your town is based around a resort that offers a scenic lake as one of its main draws, you will want to plug any issues that may arise from the water itself.
For the last several years, the Town of Fontana Dam has accepted that its aging water-line system will present constant issues. And much like another county township – Lake Santeetlah – Fontana Dam is without a complete map of its pipelines and therefore, eradicating leaks can be challenging.
But as discussed at its May 18 council meeting, Fontana – which has the newest water plant in North Carolina – is moving in the right direction.
A map might have been located by a Tennessee Valley Authority employee – the TVA owns the land the town operates on – and under the direction of new water-plant operator in responsible charge Carrie Stewart, the town is swiftly narrowing down the best course of action to tackle the seemingly-never ending water issues.
“We’re gaining a little bit of water now,” Stewart said during the utility report at the May 18 meeting. “But we’ve got to do something; we’re not going to be able to get water to the tank. It’s gaining 7/10th of a foot per hour; the depth of the tank is 33 feet. Our normal rate is 1 ½, 1.7 feet.”
A new wrinkle was added last week, however: an improperly-wired generator had water pulling from the incorrect tank, causing storage levels to quickly plummet. Stewart noted that had the levels dropped much lower, a boil advisory would have been issued.
“We get one thing fixed and something else blows,” Stewart said. “We’ve had the tank full one time and now we’ve lost that. We’ve had to go back and fix some of the breaks again, because they blow apart again.
“There’s so much happening that we’re going to have to keep the plant running 24/7 to keep water in the tank and the three of us can’t do that.”
To replace the entire system would cost millions – money the town simply does not have at its disposal.
“It’s going to start with investigation; running a camera through the lines and finding troublesome spots,” Fontana Dam Mayor Rob Hardy said. “It would save us a lot of money to dig those spots up and sleeve them. It’s a fraction of the cost of digging the lines up and replacing them.”
Other news and notes
* The council unanimously approved the appointment of Luis Geraldo to the board, which brings the board back to full strength once again. Fontana Dam and Lake Santeetlah each carry five-member councils, while the county seat – Robbinsville – only boasts a three-member board of aldermen.
* The council measured for a storage building, which would be behind the town hall. A Quonset hut – which is a pre-built steel structure, shaped like a semi-cylinder – is an option the town seems to favor most. Items to be stored in the moveable building include a plow and a generator.
* Council member Brandon Jones was named the town’s mayor pro tempore, in case Hardy is unable to attend a meeting in the future.