Mountain Island Lake

Over half a million people obtain their drinking water from Mountain Island Lake, near Charlotte. In 1998, The Trust for Public Land helped Gaston and Lincoln counties in acquiring 1,200 lakeshore acres with a $1.6 million grant from the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund. This marked the starting point for the Initiative for Mountain Island Lake, a regional effort to ensure water quality by protecting 80% of the lake’s undeveloped shoreline and critical tributaries. Over 2,500 acres have been protected as of December, 2003, bringing the project close to its initial goal of protecting 80 percent of the lake’s remaining undeveloped shoreline and creek banks. Partners in the project include the Catawaba Lands Conservancy, the Carolinas Conservation Network, the Foundation for the Carolinas, the Gaston County Community Foundation, and the Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation Department.