{"id":3637,"date":"2026-07-01T06:04:59","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T06:04:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=3637"},"modified":"2026-07-01T06:04:59","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T06:04:59","slug":"on-falls-lake-the-triangles-drought-looks-terrible-in-spots-normal-in-others-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=3637","title":{"rendered":"On Falls Lake, the Triangle\u2019s drought looks terrible in spots, normal in others. Why?"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Triangle\u2019s persistent drought shows its cruelest impact near the west end of Falls Lake: a moonscape of cracked mud, where great blue herons wade in puddles.<\/p>\n

Read more NC budget would give raises to officers \u2014 and cut hundreds of vacant positions<\/a><\/p>\n

Take Little Lick Creek, where the Mountains-to-Sea Trail carries hikers along a boardwalk through a pool shin-deep, stretching hundreds of yards in either direction.<\/p>\n

On Monday, those hikers watched deer graze in an empty field.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was out here last July,\u201d said Landon Olerud, 17, of Wake Forest, standing on the boardwalk, \u201cand this bridge was underwater.\u201d<\/p>\n

As drastic as the scenery can be on the lake\u2019s western end, it can look like barely touched closer to Raleigh \u2014 creating a deceptive picture of how bad the Triangle\u2019s \u201cexceptional drought\u201d<\/a> has gotten.<\/p>\n

Bass boats are still launching at the Barton\u2019s Creek ramp, reporting depths up to 20 feet.<\/p>\n

Hikers are still walking the Falls Lake Trail and coming back satisfied: \u201cIt\u2019s still really green,\u201d one reported this week.<\/p>\n

Judging the drought by the lake it is draining depends on where you stand.<\/p>\n

The topography of the Triangle puts the deepest water around the Falls Dam and shallower toward Durham, giving a misleading idea of its severity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s people who cross the I-85 bridge and say, \u2018Oh gosh, we\u2019re in trouble,\u2019\u201d said Ed Buchan, assistant director for Raleigh Water. \u201cBut up N.C. 50, near the dam, if you’re not familiar, it looks the same way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Falls Lake measured 244.95 feet Tuesday, more than 5 feet below its target level, thanks to rainfall shortage now at roughly 12 inches over the last year.<\/p>\n

The drought has struck nearby Jordan Lake, though not as drastically, and most of all the rivers and streams that feed them.<\/p>\n

Read more NC could ditch physical car registration cards and stickers under budget plan<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThis drought is getting worse and worse,\u201d wrote Duke University professor Kent Wicker, posting pictures of a dry creek bed on Facebook. \u201cBelow are pictures of Seven Mile Creek, the nearest to my house. In the past, it has had duck families and beavers in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

But for most of Raleigh, the drought\u2019s impact is limited to Stage 1 restrictions, which limit when and where lawns and plants can be watered \u2014 not even as strict yet as those set in 2008.<\/p>\n

Its full impact is harder to gauge for Raleigh because the water remains deeper closest to Falls Dam.<\/p>\n

The further it backs up toward Durham, forming finger-like coves, the more shallow it gets.<\/p>\n

\u201cUp past I-85,\u201d Buchan said, \u201cit gets very shallow even when it\u2019s full.\u201d<\/p>\n

On top of this, Buchan said, Falls Lake is theoretically divided in two \u2014 just not by an actual wall.<\/p>\n

Of its water, 58% is reserved for Raleigh\u2019s drinking supply; the rest is set for downstream releases, moving down the Neuse River toward Smithfield and Goldsboro.<\/p>\n

Of the roughly half reserved for Raleigh: 64% remains.<\/p>\n

So along the Falls Lake banks, anglers still toss a line into the water hoping to hook a fish.<\/p>\n

Paddlers still float kayaks and boaters still speed past spraying water in the air.<\/p>\n

Read more Elon University is now in control of Queens in Charlotte, accreditor says<\/a><\/p>\n

But that pool is rapidly shrinking, whether we see it or not.<\/p>\n

This story was originally published June 30, 2026 at 3:58 PM.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Drought: The deepest water is around Falls Dam in Raleigh, lower around Interstate 85 in Durham, still approaching record levels and a foot shortage of rainfall<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3636,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nOn Falls Lake, the Triangle\u2019s drought looks terrible in spots, normal in others. 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