Jordan Lake, other NC parks closed due to rising floodwaters

Jordan Lake State Recreation Area in Chatham County remains closed on Monday. The entire park was closed Saturday due to severe flooding.

Falls Lake and Kerr Lake were also closed Monday due to high water.

Falls Lake was quiet Monday with no beach to be found. Usually, there are laughing children running around and splashing in the water.

On Monday, Pedro Varon brought his family to Falls Lake to enjoy their last bit of time off together. Varon is a teacher.

"I was expecting a little bit of difference in the water, but not at this level," Varon said. "It's pretty high. I"ve never seen it like that before."

Varon said he didn't think the water at Falls Lake looked suitable for swimming.

"We're just going to hang out with our pets and talk a walk around the park and try to enjoy the day like that," Varon said.

Varon said his youngest daughter was disappointed she couldn't swim on Monday.

"We try to make the best of it, telling her that we can play at the park, play with our pets and just sort of have a good time, but there won't be any swimming today," Varon said.

Falls Lake Superintendent David Mumford said swimming on Monday is not a good idea.

"When the water level comes up, there can be serious drop-offs that weren't there before," Mumford said. "There can be debris in the water, especially if you're boating. and there can be unseen hazards that you're just not used to being there."

The condition of the water is also a concern.

"After any major rain event, tropical storm or otherwise, it washes a lot of the natural pathogens that are present in the forest or the fields -- normal, everyday bacteria," Mumford said. "E. coli is one of them."

At Jordan Lake, floodwaters are encroaching onto trails and submerging docks. According to the North Carolina Parks website, "Lake levels are anticipated to continue to rise in the next few days, which are prolonging the closures through the weekend."

"You can’t see where the boat ramp is, so that makes it dangerous for people to go out onto the water," Kris Anne Bonifacio, a spokeswoman for North Carolina State Parks, said.

Visitors arriving at the park on Saturday were turned away as paths and signs marked the area as off-limits.

"We knew there was going to be flooding since the ground was already saturated and we were expecting rainfall," Bonifacio said. "Thankfully it wasn’t as bad as it was going to be."

Docks, campgrounds, trails and the entire lake are closed indefinitely, with the park expected to remain shut down until at least Wednesday.

"Jordan Lake is particularly at a very high level right now," Bonifacio said.

Bonifacio said the lake will likely crest on Monday or Tuesday, meaning the park will remain closed until the water can be released, likely on Wednesday.

"Our first and foremost priority is obviously visitor safety," Bonifacio said.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is closely monitoring the situation.

This closure comes just as most state parks had reopened on Friday.