MCDOWELL COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — Lake Tahoma in McDowell County is undergoing a major silt and debris cleanup with an estimated half-million cubic yards that flowed into it after Hurricane Helene.
FEMA approved a $55 million cleanup project that began in 2025 and is expected to finish by June 2026. The lake is in the county’s Buck Creek community, where homeowners driving by can see the project but wait for funding from FEMA’s property buyout program.
McDowell Emergency Services Director Will Kehler is aware of the disparity. Kehler said he and his team continue to apply pressure to FEMA staff, asking for equity and funding for all outstanding programs.
“We have over 600 active projects here in McDowell County when we’re talking about recovery operations, waterways, private road and bridges, hazard buyouts,” he said.
On Tuesday, Kehler met News 13 at Lake Tahoma to provide an overview of the Lake Tahoma project and why it’s needed.
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“It’s essential that half-a-million cubic yards of debris gets removed to increase the lake’s storage capacity to ensure a reliable source, moving forward, of drinking water,” said Kehler.
Justin Graney, spokesperson for North Carolina Emergency Management, confirmed Lake Tahoma is a drinking water supply for the region as well as a focus of flood concerns.
“The Lake Tahoma project is for sediment removal,” said Graney. “The lake’s water capacity is significantly reduced, with some estimates saying the capacity was reduced by half-a-million cubic yards. This, of course, creates a flooding concern for any future events as the lake cannot hold the water it once did.”
The Alabama-based debris management company CrowderGulf is the primary contractor.
“You’ve got to clean up the headwaters and move down, or otherwise you’ll clean it up, and the debris gets washed down,” Kehler said.
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“It’s a hassle to some of the local people, probably seeing that much money being spent,” said Michael Huffman, who lives up the road from Lake Tahoma. But, Huffman said he supports the cleanup and knows restoring the lake as a source for drinking water is essential.
Kehler said the lake supplies drinking water to citizens in Marion and Nebo in eastern McDowell County.
David Lassiter, who lives in Buck Creek, is worried about the silt that he said accumulates on the outside of his truck when he drives through the project site.
“It’s a different kind of mud,” said Lassiter. “It just coats it.” Lassiter is equally concerned that FEMA funds are funding the lake work, but not the hazard property buyout program he signed up for.
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“I wonder why them spending that money is so important now, and no one else is getting money,” Lassiter added.
“FEMA has to move faster,” said Kehler of the property buyout program.” Many of these people are still paying mortgages on houses that are no longer there. That’s unacceptable.”
Kehler said his staff continues to advocate for 89 applicants who signed up for the federal buyout program and are still waiting for offers. He said there are also other outstanding FEMA projects, including 77 private property debris removal applicants, 149 waterway debris removal projects and 308 private road and bridge projects.
“About ten of those private road and bridge projects have been done,” said Kehler.
The Lake Tahoma cleanup is expected to be done by June 1, according to an on-site contract manager.