Badin Lake and the surrounding lakes have been damaged by human and environmental factors that contributed to excessive nutrient flow. The growth of toxic black algae is restricting recreational activities, impacting the ecosystem of plants, fish, and wildlife, and destroying the natural beauty of our lake. In 2021, a small group of lake homeowners met to discuss ways to remove the algae. governme
nt agencies and quickly recognized we did not have the regulatory or scientific knowledge to adequately support our recommendations. We knew we needed to find some outside resources that could help us. We reached out to the Yadkin Riverkeeper for their knowledge and assistance. In 2022, we were introduced to Sea and Shoreline, the world’s largest shoreline and water restoration company. They had just announced a multi-year, multi-million-dollar program in Morehead City, N.C. They introduced us to their client, Save Crystal River, Crystal River, Florida (SCR). Since 2012, SCR has successfully removed algae from its lake and is now rated the cleanest lake in Florida. After several discussions with SCR, we engaged Sea and Shoreline to work with us and follow the SCR model. In 2023, several community-wide meetings were held to present our vision for Restore Badin Lake. Over 100 people attended, and many offered to volunteer once our program was approved. Later that year, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and Cube Hydro of the Carolinas agreed to fund and conduct a pilot of treatments they were also doing in Lake Gaston. In March of 2024, we were granted our NC non-profit and 501c3 status. We continued to dialogue with N.C. regulatory agencies and worked to secure a license to pilot a proposed solution.
