Olmsted’s design for the Bass Pond dam and spillway are still functional today. After heavy rains or when the water is high and muddy, the manually operated release valve is opened and the muddy water is carried through the bottom spillway and pipe into Four Mile Creek, and from there, into the French Broad River. A huge underground pipe made of brick runs under the Pond, which allows one of the valves to be shut off, releasing water to the bottom of the spillway. The recent restoration of the flume system under Bass Pond was headed up by Bill Cecil Jr., the great grandson of George Vanderbilt. Bill Cecil Jr., is the CEO of the Biltmore Estate, a quiet, intelligently run family organization.