Helene’s hidden debris lurks in Charlotte-area waterways. Volunteer cleanup to begin.

Hazards from Tropical Storm Helene both visible and hidden lurk in and on Lake Norman, Lake Wylie and Mountain Island Lake, and volunteers are launching a cleanup of those and other Charlotte-area waterways.

Helene ripped apart boats, docks and trees and cast them adrift with other debris, according to the Catawba Riverkeeper environmental non-profit.

Nearly four million people depend on those and other waterways in the Catawba-Wateree River Basin for drinking, electricity and recreation, according to the organization, which is spearheading the upcoming effort.

The cleanups are critical to “restoring the health and safety of these waterways,” according to a Catawba Riverkeeper statement on Friday. Cleanups also are planned on the Catawba and South Fork rivers, organizers said.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26, Lake Norman Wildlife Conservationists , a chapter of N.C. Wildlife Federation, will host a cleanup on Lake Norman.

From 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Nov. 2, Catawba Riverkeeper will host nearly a dozen cleanup sites on Lake Wylie and Mountain Island Lake.

“Hurricane Helene cleanup efforts such as these will only be possible with the support of community volunteers,” according to the statement.

Volunteers can sign up for the cleanups on the Catawba Riverkeeper website .

On Mountain Island Lake, the effort will complement Mecklenburg County’s ongoing use of heavy equipment to remove debris near the lake — more than 100 tons as of Wednesday, Oct. 16, according to a county Facebook post.

Volunteer boaters especially needed

Boaters who can take volunteers out to cleanup sites on the water are especially needed, Kaity D’Angelo, Catawba Riverkeeper volunteer and community science manager, told The Charlotte Observer.

Sites on the water will be up to three miles from the various boat launch areas, she said.

The Catawba-Wateree River Basin extends 225 miles, from near Old Fort in the North Carolina mountains through 26 counties and 11 lakes to Columbia, South Carolina.

“Floods, mudslides, strong winds and downed trees (from Helene) have devastated communities throughout the river basin and have inundated lakes, rivers and streams with natural and human-made debris,” according to the Catawba Riverkeeper statement.

Catawba Riverkeeper will organize cleanups on the northern and southern ends of the basin “once water levels lower and it is safe to go out on the water,” leaders said.

Are Charlotte-area waterways safe after Helene?

It’s still uncertain whether Lake Wylie and Lake Norman, North Carolina’s largest manmade lake, can be deemed safe for leisure boaters in the wake of Helene, D’Angelo said.

“That’s a loaded question,” she said, meaning some areas may be safe and others dangerous.

The deeper main channel is likely safer than shallower coves where debris may have collected, she said. A boat with a depth finder is likelier to spot hidden dangers than one without.

A boater could suddenly encounter a sandbar formed by Helene or a cluster of downed trees, D’Angelo said. The extent of such hazards is still unknown, she said.

Catawba Riverkeeper has been assessing the lakes and rivers since the storm and will continue doing so, D’Angelo said.

Get Product Recall Updates