Surface Water Quality

CMSWS staff routinely monitor five lakes within Mecklenburg County. Additionally, staff respond to any surface water pollution concerns.

You can visit our new story map for an interactive look at the lakes in Mecklenburg County. This map will show you data from all of our lakes, information on how, where, and why we monitor, and how you can enjoy the lake.

When out on our lakes, be mindful of water conditions. If it has rained in the past 72 hours, it is best to avoid swimming in coves as they are the main area where stormwater empties into the lakes, often carrying sediment and bacteria. Remember, when in doubt- stay out!

Swim Advisories

A Swim Advisory is issued by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services, in conjunction with the Mecklenburg County Health Department, when a natural body of water is considered a public health threat for swimmers. Examples of conditions that may cause an Advisory include a sewage spill, a chemical spill, Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) or unsafe chemical or biological levels identified during routine monitoring. Once an Advisory is issued, the water is typically tested once a day until it is considered safe for swimming. If you would like to receive swim advisory information straight to your phone, simply text MECKNOSWIM to 888-777. You can also sign up for alerts.

Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs)

Algae are microscopic, plant-like organisms that are the base of the food web in lakes, ponds, and streams. Under the right environmental conditions, algae can rapidly grow and form an algal bloom which may appear as surface scum, water discoloration, or both. Algal blooms that are formed by species that can produce toxins are known as harmful algal blooms (HABs), but can also be referred to as cyanobacteria blooms, blue-green algae blooms, cyanoHABs, or potential HABs. The toxins produced by HABs can cause adverse health effects in humans, pets, and wildlife. Visit our HABs page for more information about safety, identification, reporting, and resources.

Fish Consumption Advisories

Fish consumption advisories for Mecklenburg County's lakes are issued by the state and are determined by testing the tissue of the fish. These advisories help people understand if they should limit or completely avoid eating different types of fish. In some cases, advisories are stronger for children or women of child-bearing age. See current fish consumption advisories affecting Charlotte-Mecklenburg.

No Wake Zones for Lakes in Mecklenburg County

A No Wake Zone is an area of a lake or river where vessels are required to travel at an idle speed or a slow speed, so no appreciable wake is created. No Wake Zones are typically defined by floating buoys.

The Lake Norman Marine Commission and the Lake Wylie Marine Commission handle requests for the establishment of No Wake Zones on these respective lakes. Inquiries about the process for No Wake Zone requests for Mountain Island Lake can be sent to stormwaterservices@mecknc.gov.

Stormwater pollution is the number one problem for our nation's streams and lakes. Rainwater washes off a variety of pollutants from the land into the storm drainage system and into streams, rivers, and lakes. The main pollutants to the waterways of Charlotte-Mecklenburg are bacteria from sanitary sewer overflows, soil erosion and sediment control. Additional pollutants can be characterized as Nonpoint and Point source pollution. 

Nonpoint source pollution is another name for stormwater pollution. Nonpoint source pollution comes from all over the land. Here are some common examples of nonpoint source pollution: 

• Soil from construction sites 
• Oil from cars 
• Fertilizers and pesticides from yards 
• Dog poop from parks and yards 
• Litter from streets 

Point source pollution is another problem for our streams and lakes. Point source pollution comes from a single source. Common examples include: 

• Sewage overflows from a sanitary sewer 
• Dumping of wastes from a business or person 
• Illegal discharges 
• Spills from auto accidents 

If you observe stormwater pollution, please report it immediately so City or County staff can respond and take steps to minimize impacts to water quality. You can call 311 or visit Report A Concern for more information.

What Can I do to Help Prevent Pollution? 

• Prevent Pollution. See our Top Tips for preventing pollution.
•  Report Pollution. If you see a discolored stream, or if it smells strange, report it. When in doubt, report it. See Report a Concern to learn about three ways to report pollution.
•  Educate. According to public opinion survey, approximately 50% of City and County residents don't know storm drains lead to streams and lakes. Help inform people that storm drains go directly to streams and lakes.
•  Volunteer. Help teach kids and students about stormwater and environmental stewardship through one of our many volunteer opportunities.

Monitoring surface water quality is one of the best ways to protect streams. It helps identify problems, determine whether streams are improving or declining over time, and most importantly it helps protect quality of life and public health. Each year, a wide range of surface water quality monitoring data is collected from streams and lakes throughout the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County: 

• Fixed Interval Monitoring 
• In-Stream Stormwater Monitoring 
• Lake Monitoring 
• Biological Monitoring of Fish and Macroinvertebrates 
• Stream surveys 
• Continuous Monitoring and Alert Notification Network (CMANN) 

Additionally, staff respond to service requests related to surface water quality. They also perform stream walks where staff walk nearly 270 miles each year to inspect outfalls and check stream conditions.  

Data Requests 

Staff follows strict Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC) practices when collecting field measurements or surface water quality samples. We welcome you to submit a request for surface water quality data. A minimum of two weeks is required for staff to process the request form and release the data. To submit a request, please fill out the Water Quality Request Form.

Stream and Wetland Restoration projects are designed to improve surface water quality and aquatic life by reducing erosion and restoring habitat in streams, floodplains and wetlands.

Learn more about Active Projects.

Watch videos about Completed Projects.

Stream and Wetland Mitigation Bank was established to ensure that City and County projects that require stream and wetland mitigation are mitigated locally and to eliminate project delays due to stream and wetland mitigation projects. 

Questions Restoration Projects, Mitigation Bank Project Selection and Credits?

City of Charlotte Watershed Planning & Project Implementation Supervisor
704-562-2691
Erin.Shanaberger@charlottenc.gov

David Kroening, PG, CFM, GC 
Mecklenburg County Storm Water Services Program Manager
980-314-3216 
David.Kroening@mecknc.gov

Stream and lake buffers are vegetated areas or strips of land adjacent to water bodies such as streams and lakes. They generally contain a mix of trees, bushes, grasses, and other vegetation and provide a variety of benefits related to protecting water quality. Stream and lake buffers are also “no build zones” when local and state buffer regulations apply.

Stream and lake buffers are essential for protecting water quality of streams and lakes and important to our community for the following functions they provide:

• Protect water quality by filtering pollutants in stormwater runoff;
• Allow water to soak into the ground and recharge groundwater supplies;
• Provide storage for floodwaters;
• Allow channels to meander naturally;
• Provide suitable habitats for wildlife;
• Provide shade to reduce water temperatures; and
• Provide soil stability through root mass.

There are four different types of stream and lake buffers in Charlotte-Mecklenburg as required by various ordinances adopted by the City of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County and the six towns between 1993 and 2008. Ordinance requirements differ significantly based on the buffer type and the jurisdiction where the buffer is located. In all situations where two buffer types apply to the same stream segment, the buffer that is more protective of water quality always applies. The following provides a summary of the four different buffer types in Charlotte-Mecklenburg.

1. Water Supply Watershed Buffers
2. Surface Water Improvement & Management (S.W.I.M.) Buffers
3. Post-Construction Buffers
4. Goose Creek and Six Mile Creek Buffers

For a summary of the differences between these types of buffers please see Overview of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Stream and Lake Buffer Requirements(PDF, 369KB).

See POLARIS Instructions for Stream and Lake Buffers(PDF, 370KB) to determine if your property has a water quality buffer.

See Determine Stream and Lake Buffer Requirements for a Specific Parcel(PDF, 96KB) for the following information:

• Requirements for a specific parcel
• Disturbances allowed and NOT allowed under the law
• Mitigation of disturbances
• Violations

For more information about the specific regulations that require stream and lake buffers, see Regulations. 

Questions about Stream and Lake Buffers?

Olivia Edwards
Mecklenburg County Environmental Supervisor
980-721-2056
Olivia.Edwards@mecknc.gov

Rylee Hernandez
City of Charlotte Engineering Project Manager
980-287-5624
Rylee.Hernandez@charlottenc.gov

Watershed Improvement, Planning & Protection

There are many waterbodies throughout Charlotte and Mecklenburg County that are designated as "impaired" by the State of North Carolina because of degraded water quality and/or degraded habitat and aquatic life. This degradation has largely resulted from the impacts of historical stormwater management practices implemented prior to current surface water quality regulations and the impacts of urbanization.

Watersheds require innovative water quality improvement activities to overcome many years of degradation and continued sources of pollution.

We aim to protect and improve the water quality of streams and lakes, so they are no longer considered "impaired". This will require decades of programs that reduce erosion, restore natural features, and reduce polluted stormwater runoff. The following provides information about our programs that accomplish these goals. Please click on any of the links below for more information. 

•  Pilot Stormwater Control Measures Program
•  Green Infrastructure
•  Pond and Dam Policy(PDF, 130KB)

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permits

Many of these surface water quality programs are driven by NPDES Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) regulations. The Federal NPDES regulations are part of the 1972 Clean Water Act and are administered by the State of North Carolina.

NPDES MS4 regulations require the following public entities to obtain permits to discharge stormwater: City of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, the Towns of Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville, Matthews, Mint Hill, Pineville, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and Central Piedmont Community College. These entities are subject to these regulations because of population numbers and densities. The City of Charlotte is considered a Phase I permittee because it has over 100,000 residents within its jurisdiction. The rest of the above jurisdictions are Phase II permittees because they are within an urbanized area as defined by the U.S. Census. 

Requirements for Phase I and Phase II permittees are slightly different, but each applies for a permit that is issued by the state for a five-year term. This permit requires the permittees to develop a Storm Water Management Plan (SWMP) that outlines how the permittee(s) will implement the following six minimum measures to reduce stormwater pollution: