Sewage spill prompts no swimming advisory in Lake Norman cove

A sewage spill has prompted a no swimming advisory in a Lake Norman cove until at least Monday.

Nearly 400 gallons of sewage discharged into the lake in the 20200 block of Bethel Church Road in Cornelius on Thursday, said Rusty Rozzelle, water quality program manager for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services. Bethel Church Road is off West Catawba Avenue, west of Interstate 77 Exit 28.

Underground boring activities accidentally broke a sewer line, causing the spill, Rozzelle said Friday. Mears Inc., a Piedmont Natural Gas subcontractor from Michigan was installing a gas line to a house when it broke the line, Rozzelle said.

“We are investigating whether they used a locating service for the sewer line,” Rozelle told the Observer. “We suspect that they did not since they hit it.”

Storm Water Services staff collected water samples, but the results won’t be available until Monday, he said.

“Sampling will continue until bacteria levels are within safe levels,” Rozzelle said.

The advisory is standard procedure, he said. “It was necessary to close the areas to recreation because of the potential risk to human health,” Rozzelle said. “That’s because this cove on Lake Norman is designated as recreational waters.”

This story was originally published June 2, 2017 at 2:47 PM with the headline "Sewage spill prompts no swimming advisory in Lake Norman cove."