HOPE MILLS, N.C. -- For the last seven years, the lake that everyone here feels is an icon has been just an empty and muddy crater. The shell where Hope Mills Lake once was has been difficult to look at for residents of this town.

A clock has started ticking and that clock is counting down until the day that water will be placed back into Hope Mills Lake. The construction of the new dam at the lake has been completed.

Town officials are waiting for the new dam to undergo safety tests by the state officials and the US Army Corps of Engineers. Once the dam passes those inspections, the town can begin refilling Hope Mills Lake.

It appears that the days of that empty muddy crater will soon be over and the town's iconic lake will be reborn.