Reservoir to open for public fishing, boating in March
GREENSBORO — Within two months, anglers and boaters can use Randleman Regional Reservoir to their heart’s content from a new marina and fishing pier in northern Randolph County.
The Piedmont Triad Regional Water Authority voted unanimously Tuesday to open the lake for boating and limited pier fishing at 8 a.m. March 3.
People can use the lake for fees ranging from $2 for pier fishing to $15 or more per motorboat from March through Nov. 30. That yearly schedule gives the lake and its game fish a three-month respite December through February.
The lake will be open for recreation Wednesday through Sunday most weeks during the season. The marina is on Adams Farm Road, west of U.S. 220 near the authority’s new water treatment plant.
Board members acknowledged taking a big step Tuesday on a water-supply project that spans 80 years of debate, scientific analysis, governmental review, engineering and, finally, construction.
“There are all sorts of issues that are going to come up as to the use of this lake,” said board member Darrell Frye, who chaired a subcommittee that reviewed costs and other issues involved in opening the lake for recreation. “It (the new lake) already has been written about in magazines. It is already on people’s radar. So it is going to be used.”
In other action, the authority adopted “Randleman Regional Reservoir” as the official name of the lake and dam soon to provide drinking water to thousands of residents in Guilford and Randolph counties.
The board briefly discussed calling it simply, “Randleman Lake.
Board members wanted to be sure its status as a drinking-water lake remained foremost in people’s minds, rather than as a place for all forms of recreation from water skiing to picnicking on the bank.
“It’s not that,” Frye said. “This is a water-supply reservoir with some limited (recreational) access.”
For example, there will be no bank fishing, only fishing from boats or from the pier at the new marina. The reason? To preserve the pollution-fighting buffer of undisturbed land that surrounds the lake.
Similarly, no more than 100 motorboats will be allowed on the lake at any time, to limit pollutants from the engines.
The board voted to deploy a staff of two, full-time lake wardens and six part-time wardens to enforce safe-boating and other rules. The staff also will include one full-time marina supervisor and four part-timers.
Estimating conservatively, Frye’s committee figured the operation would cost about $191,000 for the first year, which is roughly $40,000 more than the estimated revenue from user fees.
But the board agreed to address any shortfall after the lake is open and the authority gets a better idea of its true earning potential.
In other action, Authority Director John Kime reported that construction of the reservoir’s water treatment plant and distribution lines are on schedule or months ahead in some cases. The reservoir could produce drinking water as early as next summer, he said.
Contact Taft Wireback at 373-7100 or taft.wireback@news-record.com
USING THE NEW RESERVOIR
Operating season: March 1 to Nov. 30, Wednesdays through Sundays.
Operating hours: March: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; April: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; May through August: 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.; September and October: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; November: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Fees: Pier fishing, $2. Gas-powered boating, $15 for up to three people, $5 more each additional person; electric motor or sailboat, $6; kayak, canoe or paddle boat, $4.
RULES OF NOTE
• No alcoholic beverages on lake or adjoining property.
• No more than 100 motorboats at one time.
• No motorboats north of N.C. 62 bridge.
• No sailboats with masts more than 12 feet high.
• No swimming, wading, skiing, personal watercraft, camping, horseback riding or all-terrain vehicles on reservoir property.
• Boat operators must be over 16 years old.
• No cleaning of fish on reservoir property.
• Hunting, trapping or harassing wildlife and/or birds is prohibited.
• Picnicking allowed only in designated areas outside the reservoir’s protective buffer.
• No littering. Trash disposal in assigned areas only.
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