Riversweep, Indian Land Fall Festival, LWCC: The latest as Ian impacts weekend plans
Weather expected from what hit Florida on Wednesday as Hurricane Ian continues to impact the Rock Hill region.
One of Lake Wylie’s largest community events is canceled in anticipation. The Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation posted Wednesday that Riversweep is canceled. The event was set for Saturday. The decision was made due to uncertainty with flooding from the hurricane that neared landfall in Florida on Wednesday morning.
Indian Land Fall Festival, a hugely attended gathering in the Lancaster County panhandle each year, is postponed. Organizers posted Wednesday the event wouldn’t happen this weekend. They later posted new dates for the festival, on Oct. 15-16. Music, movies and food trucks also are being scheduled for Oct. 14.
“Due to the inclement weather heading our way this weekend we feel our community’s safety is our top priority,” organizers posted online on Wednesday.
Lake Wylie Children’s Charity also planned its fall fundraiser for this weekend. That event dates back decades, and can draw tens of thousands of dollars to support families facing pediatric cancer or other hardship. So far the noon to 6 p.m. event Sunday on the lawn at Papa Doc’s Shore Club remains a go. If it’s just rain and no major storm impact, the event will go on with some activities held inside the restaurant.
Major storm implications could change that plan.
“The community and Papa Doc’s have been so supportive to help us raise funds for our kids at our largest fundraising event of the year,” organizers posted Wednesday. “Most importantly, please join us as we pray for those in the path of lan.”
Riversweep is the largest single-day public cleanup event in the region. It involves boat captains, volunteers and others who gather at marinas, parks, along waterways or at public access areas to remove debris from lakes, streams and the Catawba River. Unpredictable water rise in lakes and creeks across the basin caused the cancelation.
“We are extremely disappointed to cancel this annual community-wide stewardship event that brings together so many organizations, partners, and volunteers and sheds awareness on the important mission of clean waterways in the Catawba-Wateree River Basin,” reads an announcement from the foundation.
Riversweep now runs from headwaters in the North Carolina mountains at Lake James, through the Charlotte region and south to areas below Lake Wateree. About 60 spots were signed on for the event.
In Lake Wylie, Riversweep efforts date back decades. More than a dozen Lake Wylie sites set to participate this year included Buster Boyd Access Area in Lake Wylie, Ebenezer Park in Rock Hill, the Lake Wylie Dam in Fort Mill, Nivens Creek Landing in Tega Cay and River Hills, Tega Cay and other marinas.
Even more spots on the northern part of Lake Wylie include spots in Belmont and Cramerton, North Carolina. More than half a dozen sites just below Wylie include the Anne Springs Close Greenway in Fort Mill, Riverwalk in Rock Hill and the Lindsay Pettus Greenway in Lancaster County. More than a half dozen more sites are in Great Falls and surrounding areas.
Even in past years when Riversweep was limited largely to volunteer sites on Lake Wylie, the event consistenly collected tens of thousands of pounds of litter, debris and trash. Along with canceling Riversweep, Ian could further impact waterways if it creates flooding or near flooding conditions. Large storms often can pull natural debris or even pieces of dock loose and relocate them downstream.
As of 11 a.m. Wednesday, Duke Energy has lakes all along the Catawba basin slightly to more than a foot below their target levels. Lakes can be lowered ahead of significant rainfall expected from hurricanes or tropical storms. Duke’s protocols and ability to use the entire river system together limits the threat of flooding along Lake Wylie and other reservoirs.
This story was originally published September 28, 2022 at 11:30 AM.
