Moore County Residents Blame Flooding On Private Community, Earthen Dam

Many residents blame their flooding problem on an earthen dam protecting a lakeside community.

Woodlake is a private community built around the dam. There are 500 homes on the shoreline. The community controls the lake level at the spillway, which is where the Little River begins.

Jamie Miller, Woodlake's general manager, said with all of the recent rain, they had to open the flood gates to keep the community dry and to protect the earthen dam from breaking.

"If this breaches we're in a lot more trouble than if we let a little at a time like we're doing right now," he said.

State inspectors checked the dam on Sunday. They said it is structurally sound, but county and state officials have OK'd the bigger release just to be safe. That does not hold water with people like Kathy Gallo, who live downstream.

To get to and from her home on Creek View Drive, Gallo and her family traveling by flat-bottom boat.

"I would like to see them control their gates better and worry about the little people who live downstream. We might not have million-dollar houses, but that's our house down there, and we don't like to see it go under," she said.

"We're not trying to flood anybody out downstream. It's simply [that we've] got to get the water out of here," Miller said.

Residents said it is not the first time their neighborhood has flooded, but it is the worst they have experienced.