BOILING SPRING LAKES, N.C. — It’s been a little over four years since Hurricane Florence hit North Carolina, but many people are still dealing with damage from the storm.
Since Florence, the lakes of Boiling Spring Lakes have dried up, but after a Brunswick County Board of Commissioners meeting this week, there’s a chance they will return.
Joan Kinney likes to start her mornings sitting outside on the back deck of her lake-front home looking out at the water.
“You would hear all the water skiers and the jetskiers and pontoon boats coming by,” Kinney said. “It was always really active, and it’s just a lot of fun.”
These days, however, the view is much different. When Hurricane Florence hit in 2018, it damaged Boiling Spring Lakes dams, causing the lakes to dry up. Now, when Kinney sits outside, she doesn’t look out at skiers or boats, she looks out at overgrown greenery.
“It’s definitely a disappointment,” Kinney said. “Because it’s not near as enjoyable and the scenery is not at all the same.”
Kinney has lived in Boiling Spring Lakes for nearly 40 years, and she moved there to be by the water.
“It came up to the bulkhead there, and this is an inlet off of the lake, which I mean there were times when we could see alligators back in there and it’s just you’d have all the skiers would be going down across this way, there’s 275 acres in the lake,” said Kinney, pointing out the differences between now and pre-Florence. “It was just beautiful, that’s the only way I can describe it. It was just absolutely gorgeous and I think all of us miss it and we’re hoping it’ll come back real soon.”
Lucky for Kinney, there’s a chance it will come back. This week, the Board of Commissioners approved providing $3 million to support the town's dam reconstruction, a project that could ultimately bring the lakes back.
“A lot of people move here because of the water, we have not only the big lake, but 50 smaller lakes, and homes built around the lake,” Kinney said. “This city is a city of lakes and that’s what it’s all about.”
While Kinney is hopeful that more people will be able to enjoy her favorite place in all its former glory, she’s most excited to get back to her mornings on the deck overlooking the lake.
“I’m excited, that would be wonderful,” Kinney said. “I’d like to have my cup of coffee and look out at the water, it would be a real joy.”
The Board of Commissioners says construction would take up to four years to complete and funding will be disbursed in $750,000 increments over those four years.
The board says funding would be delayed or withheld if the project isn’t making progress.
You can learn more about the project here or on the Board of Commissioners site.