No swimming in part of Mountain Island Lake after discharge of wastewater
People are being told not to swim in the McDowell Creek Cove of Mountain Island Lake in Mecklenburg County after partially treated wastewater was discharged into the lake.
An advisory issued Monday said approximately 58,000 gallons of partially treated wastewater was discharged from the McDowell Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Huntersville after severe storms Saturday night caused backup generators to fail. The treatment plant, located at 5310 Jim Kidd Road in Huntersville, is operated by Charlotte Water.
A statement from Mecklenburg County Government said crews had the generators running again within 20 minutes. The water spilled had received advanced treatment, but had not gone through the final disinfection process.
The no-swimming advisory is in place due to the potential risk to human health as the cove is used for recreation, said Rusty Rozzelle, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services’ water quality program manager.
Water sample results will be available on July 12, and the no-swimming advisory will be re-evaluated then.
Jamie Gwaltney: 704-358-5612, @jamielgwaltney
This story was originally published July 10, 2017 at 7:45 PM with the headline "No swimming in part of Mountain Island Lake after discharge of wastewater."