RALEIGH, N.C. — A pilot program at Lake Johnson aims to lower water levels ahead of major storms more efficiently and safely.

What You Need to Know

Cameras and an online system help to more efficiently lower water levels in Lake Johnson

Lake Johnson is a high-hazard dam

City of Raleigh is testing this pilot program to eventually add to more dams

Originally, the City of Raleigh would send a crew to a command center in Lake Johnson to climb a ladder and manually crank a valve to lower water levels. Scott Bryant, with the City of Raleigh Stormwater Program, says that process would take hours. Now, with cameras and an online system, the process can take about five minutes.

"Our primary purpose in controlling the waters in Lake Johnson is public safety," Bryant said. "We want to reduce flooding hazards across the City of Raleigh, and in this case across the Walnut Creek watershed. Since we're able to do that, that protects the community."

Lake Johnson is considered a high-hazard dam, meaning people living downstream are at high risk if the dam fails and causes flooding. 

According to the city, the new system enables them to track the water levels in real time to see if they need to open the valve if water is leaving the dam too quickly or to fix issues.

Bryant says they are not able to eliminate flooding completely, but the goal is to lessen the impact.