Drought drops water levels, exposing hazards for boaters

GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — The drought in North Carolina has caused new hazards in the water, including in the Catawba River.

Firefighters told Gaston County reporter Ken Lemon they want boaters to be safe in shallow water.

Full pond on Mountain Island Lake is 100 feet, and it’s currently about 5 feet low. That drop may not sound significant, but it’s enough to expose tree stumps, limbs, and sand that are normally hidden, and to bring other hazards close enough to the surface to damage a boat.

“I fished this river since I was five years old, so I know every rock, stump,” said boater Buren Edwards.

Edwards also knows Mountain Island Lake well enough to see the difference.

“Stumps, logs, rocks,” he said. “I don’t go wide open down the river.”

The Mount Holly Fire Department is trying to get other boaters to follow his lead.

Battalion Chief Patrick Mayhew worked on the water for 10 years.

“We have seen fluctuations in the lake levels, but I haven’t seen it this low before,” Mayhew said.

The department shared a drone video of a channel on Mountain Island Lake.

“Got a lot of sandbars up there that are typically shallow as is, so now they are almost double what they normally would be,” Mayhew said.

He said the area, which is normally about 6 feet deep, is now about 3 feet.

It’s easy to see that from a drone.

“Even if it’s just a few inches, maybe a foot deep, you may not see it until it’s too late,” Mayhew said.

A couple of boaters ran aground recently and needed help to get their vessel back in the water.

Mount Holly Fire Department officials urge boaters to slow down, stay in the deep end of the channel, and not boat in the dark. They also said boaters should use sonar, depth finders, or anything that would warn them of hazards in shallow water.

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