Charlotte Mecklenburg Utility Department crews responded to a broken wastewater pipe at a home on Connor Quay Court in the Peninsula neighborhood Friday afternoon, halting what ended up being a minor leak into Lake Norman. Read the full story

Lake Norman will be 50 years old in 2013, and the Davidson College Archives staff is in the midst of a project titled “Under Lake Norman” to collect stories, photos and other information about the hidden history that now lies below the lake. The lake was created in 1963 when Duke Power built a hydro-electric dam on the Catawba River at Cowans Ford, leaving behind plantations, old bridges, mills and home sites.

Davidson College archivist Jan Blodgett and librarian Craig Milberg hope to gather images, stories and information about those historical sites and structures that were covered when the lake filled. So far, they’ve gathered information on a 10 sites that they’ve mapped on an interactive web page, in the Daivdson Archives Community space at sites.davidson.edu/archives/community/under-lkn.

Sites already on the map include several historic plantation houses, Sherrills Ford across the Catawba River; the old Highway 150 bridge; the home site of George Davidson, who was the father of Revolutionary War General William Lee Davidson; and the site of the Battle of Cowan’s Ford, where General Davidson was killed fighting British troops.

ADD YOUR HISTORY

If you’ve got information, photographs or stories to share, visit sites.davidson.edu/archives/community/under-lkn/map.

For more information on the project, people may contact Blodgett and Milberg at 704-894-2632, or via e-mail at archives@davidson.edu.

The Lake Norman Chamber’s monthly Focus Friday issues session this Friday, Oct. 26, will provide an update on progress at the Langtree at the Lake development, off I-77 Exit 31. Steve Welly, president and chief operating officer of RL West and Langtree Development, will talk about the mixed-use project, where four of the first seven planned buildings are now under construction. Read the full story

The Chinese parent of Denver Global Products Inc. announced this week that it plans to build a $30.2 million plant for manufacturing, distribution and research and development in Lincoln County, on the west side of Lake Norman.

The company currently has 27 workers at the site on North Pilot Knob Road, but expects to employ 450 when the plant is completed. Read the full story

Authorities that regulate activities on Lake Norman are considering a new set of rules governing water skiing slalom courses. The Mooresville Tribune reports that permits would be issued by Duke Energy, with approval from the Lake Norman Marine Commission. (LINK: Oct. 9, 2012, Mooresville Tribune, “Lake board looks to regulate ski courses.”

By JULIE ROSE
WFAE

Mecklenburg County plans to lift its 30-year ban on swimming at county parks on Lake Norman – possibly by the summer of 2015. The county Park & Recreation department will allow the access at Ramsey Creek Park, off Nantz Road in Cornelius.

Currently only people with boats or lakefront property have access to swim in the Lake. A series of drowning deaths in the 1970s prompted the swimming ban. Read the full story

A waterfront estate on Lake Norman in Denver sold Sept. 25 for $7.5 million, setting a new record for a home sale in the Charlotte region, according to Carolina Multiple Listing Service data. Built by Tony H. Forouzad Construction Co., the home was sold by Lake Norman Realty Inc. Read more in REAL ESTATE & HOME»

A Lake Norman waterfront home in the Island Forest neighborhood off Bethel Church Road was left with smoke and fire damage Monday afternoon from a fire that apparently started on the first floor. Read the full story