Swimming In Lake Wylie

It's always boggled my mind how an area with so many lakes has no public beaches. And so I was surprised to learn today that there has actually a ban on swimming at Mecklenburg County public parks. Huh?

An article in the Observer explains that this ban has been in effect for more than 30 years. I understand that safety and liability is a concern but how can you deny these natural resources from the 600,000 residents who can't afford waterfront property or motorboats? Public boat ramps have risks too but they're plentiful.

The good news here is that Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation is currently conducting a study on possibly lifting the ban. The study should be completed this fall, and if approved by the county commissioners , could see removal of the swimming ban by next summer. According to Park and Rec spokesman Mike Cozza, McDowell Nature Preserve and Copperhead Island are two of the locations under consideration for possible swimming parks in the future.