Could latest flooding on Riverside Drive have been prevented?

CHARLOTTE ( QUEEN CITY NEWS ) — Though flooding is something many living along Riverside Drive in Charlotte have seen before, it doesn’t make it any easier when it floods again.

The rising Catawba River kept Donald McQuire up all night, as he watched the water come closer and closer to his family’s home.

“I didn’t sleep. Not at all, not at all. (I was) watching the water to see how far it’s going to come and watching stuff down the river,” said Donald.

Just a few houses down, power was out, so Erik Gendresen grabbed his dogs and his family to head to a friend’s house.

“Now it’s rising about a foot and hour and I can’t imagine how high it’s going to be,” said Erik.

Though both men said, mother nature plays a role here, part of this problem was man-made.

“I’m extremely frustrated,” said Erik.

Erik said, he doesn’t know why Duke Energy didn’t lower the water levels sooner, especially when they knew flooding was coming. He said it seems to happen all the time, not just during hurricanes.

“Somebody sheds a tear here and we flood. And it’s absurd, and it affects so many people who live down this street,” said Erik.,

Erik and other neighbors filed a lawsuit against Duke Energy in 2020. He said they settled out of court, but here it is- flooding again.

“It really is a matter of common sense, there’s simple questions to be asked,” said Erik.

In Donald’s backyard, a neighbor’s dock crashed into his. It’s the one he built with his dad when he was 18. His parents recently passed away.

“As you get older, you realize, it’s the little things that matter. Little notes that were left, Christmas, birthday cards, it’s the stuff like that that’s nothing to anybody else that means something to you,” said Donald.

All he has left of them is what is in his house.

“My momma’s saying always, was if the Lord is willing, the creek won’t rise. Now we have the creek rising, but if the Lord willing, it won’t be in the house,” said Donald.

For now, he’ll continue to watch the river with his mother’s prayer on his mind.

Queen City News reached out to Duke Energy and asked why they didn’t lower water levels sooner. They sent us a statement that said there was more rainfall than forecasted and that when they learned of the upcoming storm, they started to lower water levels. However, they didn’t specify when they started lowering levels and why the flooding keeps happening on Riverside.

Here’s their statement:

“As soon as we began to anticipate Hurricane Helene’s arrival and its significant rainfall, Duke Energy’s hydro operations team began moving water, and continues to do so – managing our river basins as an entire system. We do this by moving water through our generating units and operating our spillway gates or flood gates, where possible. Water management in one lake can impact the others. These are all factors our hydro operations teams consider when making decisions.” -Jeff Brooks, Duke Energy Spokesperson

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