It was created by Carolina Power & Light Company in 1962.[2] Originally built by Carolina Power & Light Company in 1962 as a reservoir to cool the nearby Progress Energy Asheville Plant, the lake also served as a discharge site for heated water used to cool the plant's turbines.[4]
The lake was formerly warmed by the energy plant, which discharged water used to cool its turbines. This maintained an average water temperature of 64 degrees fahrenheit,[5] with summer highs up to 95 degrees and winter lows above 50 degrees.[6] These unnaturally warm temperatures allowed non-native species such as blue tilapia and armoured catfish to thrive in the lake. After the plant switched from coal to natural gas in 2020, the lake's temperature dropped, causing the ecosystem to revert to a more natural population of native fish and resulting in a shorter growing season.[2][7]
