Swim Advisories Activated In CLT Metro Lakes, Rivers & Creeks

CHARLOTTE, NC — Flooding problems persist through the weekend, causing major water pollution concerns in every lake, river and creek in the Charlotte Metro.

This is the most unusual situation since the 1940s, according to Storm Water Services.
So, you need to be aware before you swim this weekend.

There are swim advisories in effect due to sewage spills.

Water tests came in before 5:00 pm Friday, June 14. They show Lake Norman and Mountain Island Lake are back to normal bacterial levels. So, you are safe to swim there.

However, bacteria levels are still high for upper Lake Wylie near the Whitewater Center, South Fork River.. and any urban creeks in Charlotte, like Little Sugar Creek. You should not swim there.

To see a map of which spots still have a swim advisory, click here.

You can also go to the Catawba Riverkeeper’s Facebook Page for updates by clicking here.

It is unusually bad in some spots, according to the Catawba Riverkeeper Brandon Jones.

“It looked extremely turbid, looks pretty bad. There was a lot of debris in the water. So definitely, if you are boating this weekend, be careful. there still a lot of large branches, pieces of docks out there,” said Jones.

This week’s flooding caused multiple sewage overflows from Huntersville to Charlotte.

More than 100,000 gallons of sewage spilled along with gasoline from boats, according to the Catawba Riverkeeper.

So, if you are wondering how this gets cleaned up? It really doesn’t. Storm Water services says the water will take it down the river and flush it out of the area.

Water tests came back before five Friday evening.

They show Lake Norman and Mountain Island Lake are back to normal bacterial levels. So, you are safe to swim there.

However, bacteria levels are still high for upper Lake Wylie near the Whitewater Center, South Fork River.. and any urban creeks in Charlotte, like

Little Sugar Creek. You should not swim there.

Storm Water Services says we should see significantly improved bacteria levels within a week.

This does not impact your drinking water because that goes through filtering systems before it gets to your home.