Idols Dam Revisited Thursday

"Terry Tester and I got to paddle some Thursday, but this time our trip was of a serious nature." We met with Winston Salem utility officials yesterday, to discuss ways to make Idols Dam safer for paddlers and boaters. Once we arrived, we found city officials to be very receptive to the idea of improving the "Portage Take Out Area" . The city also has plans to place new "warning signs" for the Idols Dam. The Idols dam is referred to as a "low head Dam".
These type of dams are some of the most of the most dangerous, which take lives every year. A low-head dam is a dam of low height, usually less than 15 feet. These are drowning machines and pose a threats to any swimmer or boater. Most of the accidents that occur at these dams , are the result of not properly marked warnings. Click Here for a recent report on an accident on the Neuse River, involving a low head dam. It's accidents like these that could have easily been prevented, had they been properly marked. The Army Corp of Engineers needs to place warning buoys at Idols Dam. Click here to read the law in Pennsylvania on the proper marking of these Dams.





Montie Hamby, a board member with Yadkin River Keepers, was present for the meeting. Bill Brewer a representative the City of Winston Salem Utility Department met with us on site. Also present for the meeting was Mike Garner, who is over Parks and Recreation for Davie County( I invited Mike, because I feel a River should join counties and never divide them. Since the Portage Take Out is actually on Davie County, I felt Parks and Recreation was a natural choice for me to invite, because they too have a dog in this fight ). Lisa O'Donnell- reporter for the the Winston-Salem Journal and Lauren Carroll- news photographer for the Winston- Salem Journal were also in attendance.

We received a friendly greeting from several City Employees who were on site. They all were very courteous, some even helped us remove our boats at the end of the day.

Our short paddle launched us directly above the top of Idols Dam. We launched in front of the City's Water Treatment Facility. Special permission was granted to us this one time, for what is otherwise a secured, gated facility. Lisa O'Donnell and Lauren Carroll where invited to paddle across to the present portage take out area, so they could get a feel and look at what a typical paddler would experience.


We paddled up river first, beyond the Portage Take Out Area. I paddled Lauren, the newspaper's photographer, in my tandem, so she could take photos. . Terry provided our reporter Lisa, with here own kayak.(who by the way is a natural in a kayak). We couldn't entice Bill Brewer to paddle with us, he was to "dressed up" for the occasion( meaning he had on a nice shirt and nice pair of shoes). Mark Garner with Park's and Recreation of Davie County, opted to ride with Bill in the company yacht. I think he decided this after seeing how difficult getting in a kayak was going to be. Our makeshift launch site was "a little bit edgy" for getting into a kayak. It was wise choice on Mark's part and I tried to get our media guests to go back by boat. They were real troopers and wanted go back across by the same mode of transportation they came. Montie Hamby also paddle with our group. I knew Montie would paddle, because he's hard core.

We paddled with our photographer and reporter upstream. Terry and Montie both pointed out the present "Mandatory Portage" warning sign. The sign was still under a bunch of tree laps. This can be attributed to the F3 tornado that came through the area back in May. After a few comments about this downed "Stop Sign" we headed back to meet Bill Brewer and Mark Garner at the Portage take out. There we would discuss some solutions to resolve the present situation.





Once we paddled back down to the "Portage Take Out", our invited guest could see that the "Portage Take Out" sign was not very visible. This too was due to the May storm. Since our media guest weren't experienced paddlers, we decided not to take out at the present " Portage. Take Out". Safety is our first concern and we felt that it was to dangerous for our guest, even with a low water flow.




We paddled back up stream to find a safer portage passage. This wasn't much better, but at least it would be safer. We didn't have to contend with a possible drowning scenario. Instead we opted for a walk through poison oak and a possible venomous snake bite. We made it back safely to the original portage take out. There we met Bill Brewer with the City. Bill discussed some possible solutions with Montie, Mark and myself. Poor Terry couldn't come ashore because of his allergic reaction to poison oak. He had to sit out in his boat next to the Portage takeout and listen.

The flow rate of the river today was 287 Cubic Feet Per Second.(which is still in the record lows, it was 257 the other day) . These are the lowest flow rates that have been seen since 1944, when they began keeping records on the Yadkin. When our group paddled the river on July 26, the flow rate was just 600 CFS, which is considered very low.

This morning the flow rate is 203 CFS, our water supply is getting dangerously low, I'm afraid that we will start seeing large fish kills appear in these type of conditions.
An average flow rate for the Yadkin in this area is around 1700. This type of flow would be pretty scary at our Portage Takeout in it's present condition. One slip and you would go over the dam in just less than a minute. Now there is a chance that you may not get that opportunity, to take the death plunge over the dam. This is because you stand a good chance of getting trapped beneath the two huge strainers that are presently at the Portage Take Out. Even with a life jacket, you might not survive with a flow rate of 1700 CFS pushing you under a tree. This rate of CFS can be translated in a flow of 12, 716.85 gallons of water moving past you per sec. Today the flow was only2146.90 gallons per sec. Looking at it today, it seemed calm, but fall in and the reality of a slow rate can be dangerous.

This is why we contacted City Officials. We felt this needed to addressed immediately. We notified the press and others to help bring attention. We aren't pointing fingers we are contacting those who we feel can help close this "deadly door" before it's to late.

Paddlers have a right to a safe passage around dams and bridges. We aren't asking anyone to build us a lavish Portage Take Out Area. All we want is a "safe one". We want a Portage Area Take out that will be maintained in the future, so this never has to be an issue again.

Terry and I were representing HRL Paddlers today. We aren't paid and for doing taking the time out of our day to do this. Terry had to start at noon loading boats to make the 3 pm meeting. I only had to catch a ride with Terry. Like Montie Hamby who's been doing this for years, we too do it for the love of the Yadkin River Basin we paddle.

Our meeting today strictly for benefit of those who may paddle or boat this area in the future. We are only looking for a solution to the problem. Bill Brewer who represented the City expressed a willingness on the City's part to help us resolve this. We know that no one person can accomplish this alone. We all acknowledged it will take a combined efforts of those affected to fix the problem. We know the key to finding a long term solution is to work together. We have to become just like the River, joining and not dividing.

Part of the process has begun. "The wheels are in motion." The city has ordered warning signs to be placed on the pylons of the Railroad Trestle. Bill said city crews will go to work immediately on getting the downed signs back up. We know the work on the Portage area will take more time, but at least the "Stop Signs" are going back up. This is still a very dangerous area until the "Portage Take Out" is fixed. We strongly advise that you not paddle this far down, until you receive word that a " safe portage take out" is in place.

Special thanks to Terry who went the extra mile today. Thanks to Montie who always does the same. We also would like to thank Mark, Bill, Lauren and Lisa for allowing us to show them our concerns. Lastly we do thanks those other city employees who helped us get back up on shore safely.


Neal Conner
HRL Paddlers


The following are some photos I took of yesterday's meeting. I'm sorry I don't have any of the city officials, but perhaps Terry will on his upcoming post about the meeting.