Water supplies for many communities in North and South Carolina are taken from the Yadkin-Pee Dee and during drought years the division of the water is a contentious issue. The Mitchell River was impacted in the 1980s by massive runoff of sediment from land clearing at the Olde Beau development. Numerous citations from the NC EPA were issued against developer Earl Slick but the development proceeded. Cones Lake is a reservoir located immediately upstream of where the Yadkin River begins, marking it one of the initial sources of the Yadkin River.
Lakes created by dams along the Yadkin/Pee Dee River There are many reservoirs created by damming the Yadkin and Pee Dee rivers within the bounds of North Carolina, and are listed from upstream to downstream: •
W. Kerr Scott Reservoir •
High Rock Lake •
Tuckertown Reservoir •
Badin Lake •
Falls Reservoir •
Lake Tillery •
Blewitt Falls Lake All but W. Kerr Scott generate hydroelectric power, and High Rock, Tuckertown, Badin, and Falls were managed by
Alcoa under contract with the US Government, under oversight by the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The contract with FERC expired in April 2008, and was under review after the N.C. Division of Water Quality revoked their water-quality certificate that the company needs to continue operating its power-generating dams along the river. The former governor of North Carolina,
Bev Perdue, and other North Carolina politicians made it a priority to recapture the Yadkin River water rights, but this has been denied. On September 22, 2016, Alcoa received a license to operate until March 31, 2055, a period 12 years shorter than desired. The license requires a minimum water level and a swimming beach for High Rock Lake. The terms of the license will now apply to Cube Hydro Carolinas, which bought the hydroelectric power operations. ==List of crossings==