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Flooding continues at Falls Lake

Following above-average rainfall in the Triangle, lakes and rivers continue to hold high levels of water.

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RALEIGH, N.C. — Following above-average rainfall in the Triangle, lakes and rivers continue to hold high levels of water.

Tony Young, water management chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said his team is trying to combat the precipitation that is causing the overflowing water at Falls Lake.

Young said the lake is not only a water source, but also a “very large bucket.”

Officials said the levels at Falls Dam recently peaked at 6,000 cubic feet per second, the highest level in nearly 12 years.

“We had to change our plans and go to higher releases,” Young said.

Engineers said they plan to regulate the flow downstream, but areas along the Neuse River will continue to have high water levels.

“There are some situations where there can still be some impacts, and we are seeing some of that with this release,” Young said.

After an above-average rain event, engineers said they might release water from the dam at a few hundred cubic feet per second.


“Both November and December were exceptionally wet, so the cumulative effect is pretty massive,” WRAL Chief Meteorologist Greg Fishel said. “All that water is going down in the late and they have to get rid of it.”

It could take two more weeks of releases to get Falls Lake back to a normal level, officials said.

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