Lake levels: Low, low your boat
Lake Norman water level Oct. 2023
Oct. 17. By Dave Yochum. With Lake Norman down more than two-and-a-half feet below target levels, it’s best to be extra-careful out on the lake right now.
“You need to be very cautious and some people may have issues getting their boat off the lift depending on depth at their slip,” says Jeff Junker, owner of Carefree Boat Sales and Mountain Creek Marina.
He said it’s a good time for someone who is new to the lake to “putt around and find all the shallow spots” you should avoid even when the water is up a foot or even more.
A depth meter is a must.
“If you are unsure,” stop the boat,” says Kevin Scott, owner of JK Marine Service in Cornelius.
Kevin Scott
To further complicate things, smaller boats may ride lower in the water with a full load than larger boats.
Right now Lake Norman is five feet below full pond, or about six inches above minimum levels, as per Duke Energy’s Current Lake Levels report.
Rolling farmland = highs and lows
Michael Miltich, captain of the Carolina Grace charter vessel, said he keeps the yacht well clear of shoals, sticking to the main channel as well.
“This used to be rolling farmland. There are all kinds of hills now covered with water, and sometimes not very much water,” he says.
Pro tip
Miltich on Carolina Grace
One trick to gauge the depth is to look at the neighboring shoreline.
“If the land at the water’s edge is steep, then you can expect the water to become quickly deep. However, if the land gently enters the lake, expect it to be much shallower in that area,” Miltich says.
Click here to check local and regional drought conditions.
Junker said low lake levels make it easier to check for shoreline erosion issues.
Lake Norman water level Oct. 2023
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Why is the lake level so low?
Nobody is explaining why the lake has been dumped so quickly in the past 1.5 weeks. Duke has an annual plan for this with a planned curve. How bout explaining this to us as to why?
How about other upstream lakes being kept at or above target levels! LKN LEVELS without warning are destroying people docks. TOTAL CROCK! I’ve seen this lake rise by 2 feet in a week during drought!
Those rolling hills are flattened out with silt runoff due to improper storm water runoff management! Nobody pays attention to disturbing engineered storm water runoff, but you have to get permitting for most anything cosmetic pier or sea wall related.
We used to live on lake Hartwell in South Carolina. Every year the Corps of Engineers would let out 5 ft automatically regardless of the status of the lake.
Their excuse was that it was in the books as a regulation and they could not skip it.
Fast forward a few years after pressure from congressman and others, they capitulated.
Mind you, this was after 1 year when the lake was down 27 ft. Most docks were on land and hopefully you were able to get your boat somewhere else that still had water.
So don’t let any organization tell you that they can’t change what they’re doing when the world changes about them.
McGuire has been changed to still be able to cool at 10’ below full pond. It used to be 7’. So look for the lake to go down another 3’ without any issues to McGuire. This also allows for providing more water to municipalities as the areas population continues to grow exponentially!