BOILING SPRING LAKES, N.C. – Residents who live on Pine Lake say flooded waters invaded their homes before the dam breached and drained the lakes.

• Officials say no matter what residents did, it probably would have still happened
• The dam breached when the water reached over four billion gallons, about four times the amount the dam was designed to hold
• When they do rebuild, it will be a similar design to what they were already thinking regarding renovation before the dam breached

"We enjoy it here, except when the water came in the house to visit up. That's not pleasant," said Maryland Harvilchuck.

She and her husband have lived in their lakefront home for 20 years. They said they finally paid the house off right before five inches of water flooded inside it from the lake.

As they rebuild what once was, they said the lake drainage system could have been better.

"The problem, as we see it, is that this could have all been prevented and it wasn't," said Edwin Harvilchuck.

Steven Barger, a city commissioner, said no matter what they did, this probably would have happened.

"Everyone is calling this a thousand year storm now," said Barger. "So, no matter what type of system we had in place, nobody could say this would or wouldn't have happened then either."

Before Hurricane Florence hit North Carolina, Barger said the city drained water out of Patricia Lake in preparation of the storm. But, despite those efforts, an overflow of rain water flooded them. Barger said the dam breached when the water reached over four billion gallons, about four times the amount the dam was designed to hold.

"Now that the dam has breached, it's created a much larger project," said Barger.

The city had plans in the works for a new dam before the storm, and now those plans have been reinforced. One difference is, they're waiting on FEMA's response on if dam replacement is an eligible project for reimbursement as a result of Hurricane Florence.

Barger said when they do rebuild, it will be a similar design to what they were already thinking regarding renovation before the dam breached.

"I would assume that we would go with some sort of the same philosophy, as far as not having man operated spillway and dam," he said.

As the city etches out specifics on design, money and a timeline for the dam, some lakefront residents are doing the same for their homes.

"It's a work in progress, in process, and hopefully it won't take too long," said Maryland Harvilchuck.