High Rock Lake
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High Rock Lake is the northernmost of the Uwharrie Lakes and the second largest lake in North Carolina behind Lake Norman. It begins at the confluence of the Yadkin River and the South Yadkin River. The lake's name is derived from neighboring "High Rock Mountain", the tallest mountain in the Uwharrie Mountains. The lake serves as a boundary between Davidson and Rowan counties and is a reservoir for hydroelectric power generation. High Rock Lake is currently managed and operated by the Alcoa company. It is spanned by two bridges at the northern end of the lake: the I-85/US 52 bridge and the older US 29/US 70/NC 150 bridge. The NC 8 causeway crosses the Abbotts Creek tributary of the lake. Numerous communities align the lake's banks including Southmont, Linwood, High Rock, and Spencer.
[edit] The 2002 Drought
Record low streamflows caused by unusually dry weather resulted in extremely low water levels at High Rock Lake during the Drought of 2002. These dry weather patterns began in 1998 and persisted until 2002. The final year of the drought was the worst for the lake. With water levels well below "full pond," fish began to die due to overcrowding and a lack of water oxygen content, filling the air with rancid smells. Tourism in the area dropped and residents along the lake began to complain. When water levels plummeted to six feet above the "run of river" state (24 feet below normal), federal and state agencies closed the High Rock dam, forcing reservoirs like Badin Lake and Lake Tillery (who were at "Full Pond" status) to pick up the slack to maintain flows on the lower Yadkin/Pee Dee River. This allowed High Rock Lake to return to a "17 feet below normal" level before going down again. In the fall of 2002, the drought ended and the Yadkin Valley experienced one of the wettest 15 months on record. By the end of 2003, water tables in the area were back to normal levels.
