Dams and Levees Team Lends Expertise to ASCE North Carolina Infrastructure Report

Freese and Nichols team members from the Southeast U.S. Dams and Levees team added vital expertise to the “2026 Report Card for North Carolina’s Infrastructure,” released Jan. 20 by the American Society of Civil Engineers North Carolina Section. The report, which assessed seven infrastructure areas — aviation, bridges, dams, drinking water, roads, stormwater and wastewater — was North Carolina’s first state-level evaluation in more than 10 years. ASCE issues a national infrastructure report card every four years (the last time in 2025), and state chapters conduct their own assessments on a rolling basis.

In the state report, North Carolina’s infrastructure received an overall grade of C-, a “mediocre” rating that indicates a need for improvement in areas such as funding, operations and maintenance and capacity.

A Freese and Nichols contingent from three offices — James McNash (Charlotte, North Carolina), Max Bloom (Atlanta, Georgia) and Kyle Jacobs (Alexandria, Virginia) — made major contributions to the Dams chapter of the North Carolina report card with Pat Gilmartin of CDM Smith. The team, working as volunteers, collaborated to assess the capacity and condition, funding, operation and maintenance and state dam safety program to grade the status of dam instruction in North Carolina based on a national ASCE rubric.

While dams in North Carolina were given a D+ grade (between “poor” and “mediocre”), the team also developed action recommendations to improve the grade. These included:

  • Secure additional funding for the North Carolina Dam Safety Program to retain the State Dam Safety Officer, retain and recruit new talent and expand inspection and compliance services.

  • Reevaluate low- and intermediate-hazard dams to determine if population growth requires reclassification of dam structures.

  • Continue to require high-hazard dam owners to prepare and update Emergency Action Plans annually.

  • Create a state loan or grant funding program for dam rehabilitation, repair, abandonment or removal that can be accessed by all dam owners. Further expand the grant program for dams affected by natural disasters.

To learn more, see the ASCE press release or read the North Carolina infrastructure report card.