Lake Michie

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Lake Michie
Location	North Carolina
Coordinates	36.161092° N 78.841667° WCoordinates: 36.161092° N 78.841667° W
Lake type	reservoir
Primary inflows	Flat River
Primary outflows	Flat River
Catchment area	168 sq mi (440 km²)
Basin countries	United States
Surface area	480 acres (1.92 km²)
Surface elevation	341.00 ft (103.9 m)
Settlements	Durham

Lake Michie is a manmade lake and reservoir in central North Carolina, within the Neuse River watershed. The lake is located in northern Durham County near the town of Bahama. Fed principally by the Flat River, Lake Michie is the primary reservoir for the city of Durham. The reservoir dam was completed in 1926.^[1]

In addition to retaining drinking water for the city, the concrete and earthwork dam, built between 1924 and 1926, supplied hydroelectric power to Durham until 1960, when the generators were removed.^[2]

Contents 1 Expansion 2 2007 drought 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Expansion

In 2004 city officials were considering expanding the lake, which normally supplies Durham with 30-35 million gallons of drinking water per day to address future water needs and reverse the ongoing reduction in lake volume by sedimentary deposits.^[3][4]

[edit] 2007 drought

During the drought of 2007, both Lake Michie and the Little River Reservoir, Durham's primary sources of drinking water, were severely impacted, despite a reduction in daily water use from 37 million gallons per day (MGD) to 22.16 MGD.^[5][6] As of 2 December, the lake level had fallen to 15 ft (4.6 m) below full.^[7] By March 2008 Lake Michie was once again filled to overflowing, thanks to above average rainfall. ^[8]

[edit] References

1. ^ Water Supply and Treatment Division. City of Durham. Retrieved on 2007-10-25.
2. ^ City Council Meeting Minutes (PDF). City of Durham (2006-12-18). Retrieved on 2007-10-25.
3. ^ Fishman, Margie. "Rare mussels threatened", News and Observer, 2004-01-22. Retrieved on 2007-10-25. 
4. ^ USGS Programs in North Carolina. U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved on 2007-10-25.
5. ^ Dees, Matt. "Durham looks for water", News and Observer, 2007-12-06. Retrieved on 2007-12-06. 
6. ^ Water Management - Water Conservation Information. City of Durham. Retrieved on 2007-12-06.
7. ^ Uncharted Territory : Durham, NC has only 59 days of Easy Water Left. watercrunch.blogspot.com (2007-12-02). Retrieved on 2007-12-06.
8. ^ Bowens, Dan. "Rains Raise Raleigh, Durham Reservoirs", WRAL.com, 2008-03-05. Retrieved on 2008-03-06. 

[edit] External links

• Durham water status page, showing lake levels, inflow and outflow.
• Durham parks and recreation page on Lake Michie
• Panoramic video of Lake Michie during extreme drought conditions in 2002.
• Photo during the 2007 drought.