Skip to content. | Skip to navigation

Mountain Island Lake Covekeepers
Sections

Mountain Island Lake Covekeepers

Welcome to our webpage.

      Please join us for our next monthly meeting at Cook's Presbyterian Church at 7:00 pm. Our meeting room is in the suite of offices in the wing east of the sanctuary. Call (704) 679-9494 for more information.

Next monthly meeting - Monday, April 12th at 7 PM

Got a question or comment? Send us an email  
 

 A Message from the Mountain Island Lake Lakekeeper 

Information about Mountain Island Lake

 


 

Mountain Island Lake Covekeepers News, Events and Outings

 

• Mountain Island Lake Classified as Impaired


NC Division of Water Quality's draft 2010 Impaired Waterbodies List includes a large portion of Mountain Island Lake, the main drinking water supply for the Cities of Charlotte, Gastonia and Mount Holly. Read the Charlotte Observer's story by clicking here.
 

• New New Carolina Boating Safety Law Coming May 1st.


        Starting May 1st, anyone under the age of 26 will have to show proof of compliance will the new Boating Safety Law. More information about the law and a schedule of free classes in North Carolina can be found on this NC Wildlife.org page.

Police boat on MIL

 

• Big Sweep Results: Bottles, Cans, Baby Strollers.....


         The Oct. 3rd Big Sweep Event at MIL has been deemed a success. Thanks to all the volunteers who came out and helped make our lake a cleaner place to swim, boat and recreate. Click here for more details of the Covekeepers' efforts to take out the trash.

Covekeeper collects litter 
 

• Coal Ash Pond Issue 


          While our lake is home to beautiful sunsets, summer days of fun on the water and wildlife of all kinds, it is also the site of two of the EPA's High Hazard Coal Ash Impoundments which also happen to be just upstream from the primary water intakes for the cities of Charlotte, Gastonia, Mt. Holly and Belmont. Read more about this threat to our lake here and here and here.

 Duke Power Ash Ponds
Click on this map of the Duke Power Coal Ash Ponds 
on our lake to see a larger image

• Covekeepers Duck Cove Survey


Covekeepers at Duck Cove

One of our missions is to track the health and use of our lake and the adjacent habitat. In July 2009 we ventured upriver to Duck Cove to see how that part of our lake is doing. You can find out more about that trip by clicking here.


 


• What Lives in Our Lake, Besides the Fish, Turtles, Snakes, Clams....


Mayfly

When you swim in our lake you are never alone. Besides fish or the occasional beer can our lake water is home to a variety of life forms. The Covekeepers wondered what they were so with the help of Riverkeeper David Merryman we set out to test the water. See what we found by clicking here.

 


• Muddy Water Blues


buffer destruction

Want to take a guess at the number one threat to our lake? Us! That's right, it's not an invasive species, pollution from the factories located in the communities up and down the Catawba River or running out of water due to drought, though that could happen. No, it's our ever increasing use of and encroachment on our lake and the land around it. Read more about this important issue here.

 

 

• Is Anybody Home?Prothonotary warbler


One day last spring the Mountain Island Lake Covekeepers did a little "birding", helped gauge the success of a Mecklenburg County Department of Parks & Recreation wildlife program and even helped a local newspaper reporter get her story. It's all in a day's work for the Covekeepers and you can read about it here.

 Photo Copyright © John Schwarz


• Attractive to Fish?!


photo of fish attractor      
Did you know there are fish attractors at the bottom of our lake? In March of this year 200 fabricated aquatic piscine habitat units (ah, fish attractors) were installed in 7 places on our lake. Find out more by clicking here.
 
 
 
 
 
Kathy watches swimmers CU 

     For the second year in a row the Mountain Island Lake Covekeepers helped with the 2009 MIL Open Water Swim Challenges. Photos and story are here.

 

• How You Can Help Our Lake


   Pick up the Poop - If you're still reading then here's the deal: you kind of agreed to do this when you got your dog, just like you agreed to feed, take care of and get her shots. YES, it's disgusting; NO, no one really wants to do it and YES, your mother told you not to ever touch it. But, it needs to be picked up because otherwise it can end up in our lake where someone ends up swimming in it.

  

 Keep Grass Clippings & Yardwaste Out of the Gutters and Storm Drains - Just like the poop it all eventually ends up in the lake, unless we make a conscious effort to keep it out. Please rake it, blow it and/or compost it, but try to keep it out of our water. Remember that the storm drains all eventually go to the lake and the Catawba River.

 

   Respect the Buffer - The strip of land next to the lake and its creeks is called a buffer zone. We need to protect it and what lives in it. It's the law and it's also just good practice to leave it alone. Don't cut the trees there or kill the plants or build there or burn there, at least not without permission from the many regulatory agencies who have a say in what happens in the buffer. Just let it do what it does best, protect the lake. In some places, like Mecklenburg County the buffer is the first 100 feet of land after the high water mark, in other places it's the first 50 feet and some home owner associations even have their own rules.

   If you have any questions send us an email or contact the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources - 704 663-1699

 

 

FOR INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP PROTECT THE CATAWBA RIVER AND WATEREE RIVERCLICK HERE
 
 

 Go to the Catawba Riverkeeper Home Page by clicking here

 

Return to top of page

Document Actions
Covekeeper Meetings

Join us for our monthly Covekeeper Meetings at 7 pm:

Mountain Island Lake: 2nd Monday - Cooks Presbyterian Church

Lake Wylie: 2nd Wednesday - Lake Wylie Public Library 

Lake Wateree: 2nd Thursday - Dutchman Creek Fire Dept. 

Upper Catawba Basin: 3rd Monday - 320 Mauney Hall at Lenoir-Rhyne College 

Lake Norman: 4th Thursday - East Lincoln Fire Department on South Pilot Knob Road off Hwy. 16.

Please check the calendar section of the website to verify the meeting time and location.

News
Mar 05, 2010 New Sewage Plant at ReVenture Park
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities is planning to build a new $197 million wastewater plant in proposed business park on the former Clariant (Sodyeco) property on the west side of the Catawba River. The plant would serve Mt. Holly via a pipe that under the Catawba River and Mecklenburg County.
Mar 03, 2010 Stricter Water Classifications Proposed for Catawba
DENR has proposed that segments of the Catawba River be reclassified as High Quality Waters (HQW). It would include the main stem of the river and the headwater tributaries starting at the river’s source and ending at the river’s confluence with the Left Prong Catawba River.
Feb 24, 2010 Mountain Island Lake Impaired
NC Division of Water Quality's draft 2010 Impaired Waterbodies List includes a large portion of Mountain Island Lake, the main drinking water supply for the Cities of Charlotte, Gastonia and Mount Holly.
Feb 22, 2010 Erosion Continues at Bankrupt or Foreclosed Developments
A recent article entitled, "Erosion is latest fallout of recession," by Bruce Henderson with the Charlotte Observer highlights many of the problems associated with large developments that find themselves in bankruptcy or foreclosure.
Feb 08, 2010 Utilities Plans for Coal Ash Ponds May Not Be Enough
Are utilities' plans for shoring up hazardous coal ash dams good enough?
More news…
 
Make a Donation

Your River needs you as much as you need the River

Donate Here

River maps and Recreational options

Maps

Recreation

Report Pollution in the Catawba River

Help protect your River! 

Tell your Riverkeeper if you see:

  • Sewage Overflows
  • Failure to control sediment from construction sites
  • Illegal clearing of buffer areas
  • Fish kills 
  • Invasive aquatic species
  • Exceeding Pollution Limits
  • Discharges exceeding allowable limits
  • Unpermitted discharges
  • Other issues that concern you

Click here to fill out a pollution report or

Call 1-888-679-9494 or 704-679-9494 (ext. 3)

 
421 Minuet Ln Ste 205 . Charlotte, NC 28217-2784 . Phone: 704.679.9494 . Fax: 704.679.9559