Lake Julian (North Carolina)

Lake Julian is a reservoir in Buncombe County, North Carolina, that was formerly used to cool a nearby power plant.

History
It was created by Carolina Power & Light Company in 1962. 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.

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, with highs of up to 95 degrees in the summer and lows above 50 in the winter. 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.

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.