Bad gauge measured water level too high

Your bottom-scraping boats didn't lie, Mountain Island Lake residents: The water really has been lower than official numbers say.

Duke Energy said the gauge by which it tracks lake levels apparently went on the blink about three weeks ago. It was recalibrated and will be replaced. Residents of Gar Creek Cove, on the lake's Mecklenburg side, knew something was wrong. Boats that in past years glided in and out of the cove at an elevation of 96 feet - Duke's target for this time of year - were mired in mud lately.

"Seems to me that two feet of water is 'missing,'" a resident wrote to the Observer. Duke at first said visual inspections found nothing awry. Further investigation found the broken gauge Monday, spokeswoman Marilyn Lineberger said.

Duke said it doesn't know how far off the gauge was. Lineberger said the lake is believed to have fallen somewhere below the target, but higher than the minimum level - a difference of 1.7 feet. The mechanical gauge, mounted at the lake's dam, apparently went wrong when Duke drew down Mountain Island on April 21 for several days of work at the Riverbend power plant on the western shore. Duke's Web site, apparently in error, shows levels consistently above the target since April 25, as Duke refilled the lake.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities reported no problems drawing water from the lake, its chief water source.

There's no indication that gauges at other lakes are broken, Lineberger said.

Related News

solar panels

Energy freedom and solar’s strategy for the South

WASHINGTON - The South Carolina House has approved the latest version of the Energy Freedom Act, a bill that overhauls the state’s electricity policies, including lifting the net metering cap and reforming PURPA implementation and utility planning processes in a way that advocates say levels the playing field for solar at all scales.

With Governor Henry McMaster (R) expected to sign the bill shortly, this is a major coup not just for solar in the state, but the region. This is particularly notable given the struggle that solar has had just to gain footing in many parts of the South, which…

READ MORE
largest-off-grid-solar-plant

Rio Tinto Completes Largest Off-Grid Solar Plant in Canada's Northwest Territories

READ MORE

europe renewables

Europe's Renewables Are Crowding Out Gas as Coal Phase-Out Slows

READ MORE

Tesla Electric is preparing to expand in the UK

READ MORE

solar worker

Duke solar solicitation nearly 6x over-subscribed

READ MORE