Nantahala

Duke Energy is lowering the reservoir a few feet by November 1, and will be shutting down the powerhouse from Nov 1 through mid-January. Once the reservoir levels climb to reach their target levels, Duke will maintain reservoir levels by releasing water from the dam through the Cascades/Upper Nantahala during the powerhouse shut-down. Paddlers can likely expect a period of no releases in November, followed by a period of unusual releases. Flows will not be predictable, so enjoy with caution.

Nantahala Lake continues to slowly rise, currently 87.12 ft, and rain is in the forecast for Sunday and Tuesday. A spillway gate at Nantahala Dam will be adjusted this morning to support lake level management while the generating unit continues its outage. The spillway gate flow will be approximately 600 cfs. The Nantahala hydro unit is still scheduled to return to operations by January 27.

The Nantahala generating unit is offline in a scheduled outage to support annual maintenance. This outage began on January 5th and the generating unit is scheduled to return to service January 27th. The lake level was 77.6 ft at the start of the outage. Rainfall and inflows have caused the lake level to rise to 84.6 ft. and continues to slowly rise. A spillway gate at Nantahala Dam will be opened this evening to support lake level management while the generating unit is offline. The spillway gate flow will be approximately 300 cfs which is well below the flow as when the generator is online.

To support planned maintenance activities at the Nantahala Hydro Station, the hydro unit will be out of service beginning Sept. 8, 2022. The outage will last approximately two weeks. Commercial rafting flow releases will not occur during the planned outage. Nantahala Lake requires a drawdown to 90.0 ft to prepare for the outage and is expected to reach that level on Sept. 8. During the outage, the lake will slowly fill and rise above the target level. Spillway gate releases will be made if needed for lake management. Duke Energy will provide updates if the schedule changes significantly. As always, please stay alert to changing weather conditions. Updated lake levels and flow releases are available any time at www.duke-energy.com/lakes, by calling 800.829.5253 or on the Duke Energy Lake View mobile app.

Expect reduced generation and spill for the rest of January and possibly into Feb as Duke refills the reservoir after some work. And finally, Nantahala Powerhouse is scheduled for annual maintenance and will not run Feb. 12 – Mar. 7, 2021. It will be a light early spring in terms of Nantahala releases.

Due to recent rainfall and increased stream inflows, a spillway gate opening is required at Lake Nantahala to assist with lake level management. The spillway gate will be opened at noon. The generating unit continues to run around the clock. Regulated flows from the spillway and generating unit will be ~800 cfs.

As always, the general public and members of the rafting/outfitters community on the Nantahala River are strongly encouraged to monitor the USGS Streamflow Gauge at Hewitt for the most current flow information. Please be aware that flows from Duke Energy facilities, combined with the natural inflow, will be greater than when only the generating unit is running.
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nc/nwis/uv/?site\_no=03505550&PARAmeter\_cd=00065,00060

Nantahala Cascades/Upper releases this Friday are cancelled along with all lower Nantahala releases for a week or so because of the big landslides that delivered large amounts of wood, rock, and sediment into the river.