Three dams in Henderson, Polk and Ashe counties are set to receive millions of dollars in state funding to make them safer for people who live downstream.
After Western North Carolina was devastated in flooding caused by Tropical Storm Helene nearly two years ago, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality inspected more than 400 dams and found 40 that were damaged, 36 of which it classified as “high-hazard,” according to a Sept. 16 news release.
That means that “failure would likely result in loss of life or significant damage to homes, buildings, public utilities, primary highways or major railroads,” according to the release…