McDowell Creek flows into Mountain Island Lake, Charlotte-Mecklenburg's primary drinking water source.

Rapid growth in Huntersville and Cornelius has increased water pollution and stream bank erosion. Sediment from construction sites and bank erosion has destroyed aquatic habitat in McDowell Creek, prompting the NC Division of Water Quality to label the stream as "impaired due to biological integrity."

Numerous Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services projects are improving the water quality and restoring the eroded stream channels of McDowell Creek and its tributaries.

Storm Water Services projects within the McDowell Creek Watershed:

Best Management Practices (BMPs) Retrofit (five locations)              
McDowell Creek Stream Restoration (Westmoreland Road to Sam Furr Road)
Upper McDowell Restoration (Pine Ridge Dr. to Danesway Lane, Cornelius)                                          
Caldwell Station Creek (Cornelius)
Torrence Creek BMPs (North Meck Recycling Center property)
Torrence Creek Stream Restoration (Torrence Creek and Torrence Creek Tributary #2 in Huntersville)

McDowell Creek is clogged with sediment

Likely Sources of Funding:
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services
Town of Cornelius
Town of Huntersville
Mecklenburg County Park & Recreation Department
North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund
North Carolina DENR319 Program
North Carolina Ecosystem Enhancement Program
North Carolina Department of Transportation
North Carolina Natural Resources Conservation Service
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Federal stimulus)

McDowell Creek Watershed Management Plan

The Storm Water Services projects are guided by the McDowell Creek Watershed Management Plan was completed in 2006.  The Plan, the first of its kind in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, is a comprehensive, strategic roadmap for the management and restoration of surface waters within the entire watershed.

Watershed Management Plan Goals:

• Fully functioning and supporting stream ecosystem
• Safe and secure water supply downstream in McDowell Creek Cove and Mountain Island Lake.

Watershed Management Plan Objectives:

• Prioritize areas for restoration, retrofit and preservation efforts
• Outline the overall water quality goals for the watershed
• Outline the process forward for implementing water quality efforts
• Outline the process for measuring success

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services works closely with the Towns of Huntersville and Cornelius to improve water quality in this water supply watershed.  In 2003, rapidly growing Huntersville adopted a more stringent Storm Water Ordinance with additional storm water management requirements and emphasis on low impact development. 

The McDowell Creek Watershed covers about 30-square miles of northwestern Mecklenburg County. McDowell Creek and its tributaries are nearly 75-miles long.

In conjunction with other agencies, there are plans to develop a greenway trail along McDowell Creek and provide water quality educational opportunities along the greenway and at Best Management Practices such as wetlands and rain gardens throughout the McDowell Watershed.

Project Managers:

Jimmy Gordon, P.E.
704-336-3871

David Kroening, P.G.
704- 336-5448

David Woodie, P.E.
704-336-3873

Maya Agarwal
Greenway Planner
Mecklenburg County Park & Recreation
704-336-8834