| Lake Julian | |
| Location: | Buncombe County, North Carolina |
| Type: | Reservoir |
| Date-Flooded: | 1962 |
Lake Julian is a reservoir in Buncombe County, North Carolina, that was formerly used to cool a nearby power plant.
It was created by Carolina Power & Light Company in 1962.[1] The lake was originally built by the Carolina Power & Light company as a reservoir of water to cool the nearby Progress Energy Asheville Plant, and a place for the plant to discharge heated water which had been used to cool the plant's turbines.[2]
It was formerly warmed by the energy plant which discharged water used to cool its turbines into the lake, keeping the lake's water temperature an average of 64 degrees fahrenheit,[3] with highs of up to 95 degrees in the summer and lows above 50 in the winter.[4] These unnaturally warm temperatures made the lake a home for non-native species like blue tilapia and armoured catfish. The lake temperature dropped after the plant switched from coal to natural gas in 2020, causing the lake's ecosystem to revert to a more natural population of native fish and a shorter growing season.[5]
The lake has a surface area of 321 acres and an average depth of 13 feet, although it reaches a maximum depth of 30 feet. Its waters are stocked with game fish like catfish, crappies, and bream by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.[6]