Jordan Lake facts for kids
Quick facts for kids B. Everett Jordan Lake |
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| Location | Chatham / Durham counties, North Carolina, USA |
| Coordinates | 35°45′0″N 79°1′30″W / 35.75000°N 79.02500°W |
| Lake type | Reservoir |
| Primary inflows | Haw River, New Hope Creek, Morgan Creek, and Little Creek |
| Primary outflows | Haw River |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Managing agency | United States Army Corps of Engineers |
| Max. length | 16 miles (26 km) |
| Max. width | 5 miles (8.0 km) |
| Surface area | 13,940 acres (56.4 km2) 31,800 acres (129 km2) flood control pool |
| Average depth | 14 feet (4.3 m) |
| Max. depth | 38 feet (12 m) |
| Water volume | 45,800 acre-feet (56.5 hm3) |
| Shore length1 | 180 mi (290 km) |
| Surface elevation | 216 ft (66 m) |
| Frozen | never |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
B. Everett Jordan Lake is a large man-made lake, also called a reservoir. You can find it in the New Hope Valley, west of Cary and south of Durham in Chatham County, North Carolina. A small part of the lake also reaches into Durham County.
This lake is part of the Jordan Lake State Recreation Area. It covers about 13,940 acres (5,640 ha) of water. Its shoreline stretches for about 180 miles (290 km) when the water is at its normal level. The lake was built to help control floods. A big tropical storm in 1945 caused a lot of damage downstream. This led to the idea of building Jordan Lake. The United States Army Corps of Engineers built the lake between 1973 and 1983. They did this by building a dam across the Haw River and New Hope River.
Building Jordan Lake
The Jordan Lake Dam is sometimes called the B. Everett Jordan Project. It is also known as the New Hope Dam. The dam is located on the Haw River, which flows into the Cape Fear River. The Nello L. Teer Company finished building the dam in 1974.
Building the lake changed the area a lot. Many families who lived and farmed there had to move. Several roads in eastern Chatham County were either moved or closed forever. Some roads were not torn down. They were just left to be covered by water. When the lake's water level is low, you can still see these old roads. Some people even use them as makeshift boat ramps.
The project was first approved in 1963. It was called the New Hope Lake Project back then. In 1974, it was renamed Jordan Lake. This was to honor B. Everett Jordan, who was a US Senator from North Carolina. Jordan Lake is a very important source of water. It provides drinking water for about 250,000 people in North Carolina.
Checking Water Quality
Scientists regularly check the water in Jordan Lake. On December 21, 2017, researchers from Duke University found some industrial chemicals in the lake. They also found these chemicals in the drinking water treated by the town of Cary. These chemicals are called perfluorinated compounds.
Officials from Cary's water treatment plant have also checked this. They say that the town's water is still safe to drink. The levels of these chemicals are below the safety limits set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Testing of the water continues to make sure it stays safe.
Images for kids
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The northern end of Jordan Lake, near the Morgan Creek inlet
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A sign by the lake reads, "Glass / cans and pets prohibited on beach".
