I'm an avid sailor, I've owned and sailed a number of boats over the years. A couple of years ago my wife and I took our Flying Scot to Lake Townsend in Greensboro to race in a regatta. I was surprised to find that lake Townsend is a city owned water supply reservoir that not only stores water for the city of Greensboro, but also provides recreational opportunities for it's citizens.
The city maintains a beautiful park around the lower end of the lake. It provides a marina, with docking and ramp facilities. It provides dry storage for boats and some limited wet storage for sailboats. The city allows launching for boats with outboards and sailboats. It has a sailing club on its' premises, which sponsors several regattas each year. The city also sponsors several fishing tournaments each year. The park rents canoes, kayaks, sailboats, and john boats. The city does not allow swimming, wading, or fishing from the bank. The lake itself is very similar to Lake Howell(Coddle Creek Reservoir). Lake Townsend encompasses about 1500 acres, and Lake Howell is about 1300 acres in size. Both lakes have the same North Carolina water quality classifications.
The main difference between Lake Townsend and Lake Howell is that Lake Howell is completely off limits to the citizens of Cabarrus county. No boating, no fishing, no hiking, nothing. It is a prime example of our county governments' complete disregard for the quality of life of its' residents. The commissioners might tell you that the restrictions are there to protect the water quality. Don't believe it. Recreational use such as that on Lake Townsend has virtually no impact on water quality. The real danger to water quality is run off from farms, housing, and commercial development. The truth is, that the county is unwilling to expend the resources necessary to develop and maintain a park on and around the lake.
I hope that you will pass this along to your friends and neighbors, and insist that our county open up this resource to its' citizens.
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I completely agree with you about Lake Howell. I live within 3 miles of it. Folks that I talk to that live on Lake Howell actually do fish there, and the populations are such that the White Perch in there actually will hit a bare, shiny hook. The population of the fish there needs to be managed. There are also close to record sized Largemouth Bass in there, along with tons and tons of catfish and eels. I doubt they will, but Cabarrus County is neglecting what could be a valuable fishery.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I live down the street near Bradford Farm, and I've oft wondered why this lake isnt open. I know I see huge flocks of waterfowl there in the winter.
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