Frozen Lake Dam

About Frozen Lake Dam

The primary purpose of Frozen Lake Dam is recreation. The dam creates a reservoir used for recreational activities such as fishing, boating, and swimming. It impounds the Frozen Creek near Lake Toxaway.

The dam stands 20 feet tall and stretches 116 feet across, creates a reservoir covering 7 acres, and has a storage capacity of 85 acre-feet. Completed in 1934, the structure is well-established, with more than 75 years of service.

This dam carries a high hazard potential classification, which means that a failure or uncontrolled release of water would likely cause loss of human life. This classification reflects the consequences of failure, not the likelihood — it indicates that people live or work in the area downstream. Notably, no emergency action plan is currently on file for this high-hazard dam. The most recent inspection on record was 06/06/1980. That was 45 years ago — unusually long for a high-hazard dam, which typically requires more frequent inspections.

Living Downstream

If you live or work downstream of this dam, consider taking these steps: learn your local evacuation routes, check whether your county emergency management office has a dam failure inundation map, and sign up for local emergency alerts. The North Carolina dam safety program can provide more specific information about emergency planning for this structure.

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