Duke Power

Section 1.0	Section 2.0	Section 3.0	Section 4.0	Section 5.0	Section 6.0
Maps Table of Contents		Report Table of Contents		Appendicies Table of Contents
Appendix B

Final Shoreline Management
Plan Update for the
Catawba-Wateree Hydro Project

(FERC No. 2232)

Appendix B

Submitted by:
Duke Power, A Division of
Duke Energy Corporation

Group Environment
Health & Safety
Lake Management

July 30, 2001

Prepared by:

Needham, MA

Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Project Area Description
1.2 Purpose and Content of the Study
2.0 Methodology
2.1 Data Collection
2.1.1 Mail Surveys and Interviews
2.1.2 Traffic Counts, Spot Counts, and Tailrace Counts
2.1.3 Flyovers
2.1.4 Existing Recreation Areas and Facilities
2.2 Data Analysis
2.2.1 Recreation Use Assessment
2.2.2 Boat Carrying Capacity Assessment
2.2.3 Recreation Demand Assessment
2.2.4 Limitations
2.3 Consultation
3.0 Summary of Recreation Resources
3.1 Summary of Regional Recreation Resources
3.2 Catawba-Wateree Key Characteristics
3.3 Catawba-Wateree Project Area Recreation Areas
3.4 Catawba-Wateree Project Area Recreation Use Assessment
3.4.1 General Recreation User Characteristics
3.4.2 Recreation Use
3.4.3 Boating Use
4.0 Project Area Recreation Resources
4.1 Lake James
4.1.1 Lake James Existing Recreation Areas
4.1.2 Lake James Recreation Use Assessment
4.1.3 Lake James Boat Carrying Capacity Assessment
4.1.4 Lake James Survey Respondent Comments
4.2 Lake Rhodhiss
4.2.1 Lake Rhodhiss Existing Recreation Areas
4.2.2 Lake Rhodhiss Recreation Use Assessment
4.2.3 Lake Rhodhiss Boat Carrying Capacity Assessment
4.2.4 Lake Rhodhiss Survey Respondent Comments
4.3 Lake Hickory
4.3.1 Lake Hickory Existing Recreation Areas
4.3.2 Lake Hickory Recreation Use Assessment
4.3.3 Lake Hickory Boat Carrying Capacity Assessment
4.3.4 Lake Hickory Survey Respondent Comments
4.4 Lookout Shoals Lake
4.4.1 Lookout Shoals Lake Existing Recreation Areas
4.4.2 Lookout Shoals Lake Recreation Use Assessment
4.4.3 Lookout Shoals Lake Boat Carrying Capacity Assessment
4.4.4 Lookout Shoals Lake Survey Respondent Comments
4.5 Lake Norman
4.5.1 Lake Norman Existing Recreation Areas
4.5.2 Lake Norman Recreation Use Assessment
4.5.3 Lake Norman Boat Carrying Capacity Assessment
4.5.4 Lake Norman Survey Respondent Comments
4.6 Mountain Island Lake
4.6.1 Mountain Island Lake Existing Recreation Areas
4.6.2 Mountain Island Lake Recreation Use Assessment
4.6.3 Mountain Island Lake Boat Carrying Capacity Assessment
4.6.4 Mountain Island Lake Survey Respondent Comments
4.7 Lake Wylie
4.7.1 Lake Wylie Existing Recreation Areas
4.7.2 Lake Wylie Recreation Use Assessment
4.7.3 Lake Wylie Boat Carrying Capacity Assessment
4.7.4 Lake Wylie Survey Respondent Comments
4.8 Fishing Creek Lake
4.8.1 Fishing Creek Lake Existing Recreation Areas
4.8.2 Fishing Creek Lake Recreation Use Assessment
4.8.3 Fishing Creek Lake Boat Carrying Capacity Assessment
4.8.4 Fishing Creek Lake Survey Respondent Comments
4.9 Great Falls and Rocky Creek Lakes
4.9.1 Great Falls and Rocky Creek Lakes Existing Recreation Areas
4.9.2 Great Falls and Rocky Creek Lakes Recreation Use Assessment
4.9.3 Great Falls and Rocky Creek Lakes Boat Carrying Capacity Assessment
4.9.4 Great Falls and Rocky Creek Lakes Survey Respondent Commentsss
4.10 Lake Wateree
4.10.1 Lake Wateree Existing Recreation Areas
4.10.2 Lake Wateree Recreation Use Assessment
4.10.3 Lake Wateree Boat Carrying Capacity Assessment
4.10.4 Lake Wateree Survey Respondent Comments

Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Project Area Description
1.2 Purpose and Content of the Study
2.0 Methodology
2.1 Data Collection
2.1.1 Mail Surveys and Interviews
2.1.2 Traffic Counts, Spot Counts, and Tailrace Counts
2.1.3 Flyovers
2.1.4 Existing Recreation Areas and Facilities
2.2 Data Analysis
2.2.1 Recreation Use Assessment
2.2.2 Boat Carrying Capacity Assessment
2.2.3 Recreation Demand Assessment
2.2.4 Limitations
2.3 Consultation
3.0 Summary of Recreation Resources
3.1 Summary of Regional Recreation Resources
3.2 Catawba-Wateree Key Characteristics
3.3 Catawba-Wateree Project Area Recreation Areas
3.4 Catawba-Wateree Project Area Recreation Use Assessment
3.4.1 General Recreation User Characteristics
3.4.2 Recreation Use
3.4.3 Boating Use
4.0 Project Area Recreation Resources
4.1 Lake James
4.1.1 Lake James Existing Recreation Areas
4.1.2 Lake James Recreation Use Assessment
4.1.3 Lake James Boat Carrying Capacity Assessment
4.1.4 Lake James Survey Respondent Comments
4.2 Lake Rhodhiss
4.2.1 Lake Rhodhiss Existing Recreation Areas
4.2.2 Lake Rhodhiss Recreation Use Assessment
4.2.3 Lake Rhodhiss Boat Carrying Capacity Assessment
4.2.4 Lake Rhodhiss Survey Respondent Comments
4.3 Lake Hickory
4.3.1 Lake Hickory Existing Recreation Areas
4.3.2 Lake Hickory Recreation Use Assessment
4.3.3 Lake Hickory Boat Carrying Capacity Assessment
4.3.4 Lake Hickory Survey Respondent Comments
4.4 Lookout Shoals Lake
4.4.1 Lookout Shoals Lake Existing Recreation Areas
4.4.2 Lookout Shoals Lake Recreation Use Assessment
4.4.3 Lookout Shoals Lake Boat Carrying Capacity Assessment
4.4.4 Lookout Shoals Lake Survey Respondent Comments
4.5 Lake Norman
4.5.1 Lake Norman Existing Recreation Areas
4.5.2 Lake Norman Recreation Use Assessment
4.5.3 Lake Norman Boat Carrying Capacity Assessment
4.5.4 Lake Norman Survey Respondent Comments
4.6 Mountain Island Lake
4.6.1 Mountain Island Lake Existing Recreation Areas
4.6.2 Mountain Island Lake Recreation Use Assessment
4.6.3 Mountain Island Lake Boat Carrying Capacity Assessment
4.6.4 Mountain Island Lake Survey Respondent Comments
4.7 Lake Wylie
4.7.1 Lake Wylie Existing Recreation Areas
4.7.2 Lake Wylie Recreation Use Assessment
4.7.3 Lake Wylie Boat Carrying Capacity Assessment
4.7.4 Lake Wylie Survey Respondent Comments
4.8 Fishing Creek Lake
4.8.1 Fishing Creek Lake Existing Recreation Areas
4.8.2 Fishing Creek Lake Recreation Use Assessment
4.8.3 Fishing Creek Lake Boat Carrying Capacity Assessment
4.8.4 Fishing Creek Lake Survey Respondent Comments
4.9 Great Falls and Rocky Creek Lakes
4.9.1 Great Falls and Rocky Creek Lakes Existing Recreation Areas
4.9.2 Great Falls and Rocky Creek Lakes Recreation Use Assessment
4.9.3 Great Falls and Rocky Creek Lakes Boat Carrying Capacity Assessment
4.9.4 Great Falls and Rocky Creek Lakes Survey Respondent Commentsss
4.10 Lake Wateree
4.10.1 Lake Wateree Existing Recreation Areas
4.10.2 Lake Wateree Recreation Use Assessment
4.10.3 Lake Wateree Boat Carrying Capacity Assessment
4.10.4 Lake Wateree Survey Respondent Comments

4.8	Fishing Creek Lake

Fishing Creek Lake is located downstream of Lake Wylie southeast of Rock Hill in Lancaster and Chester counties, South Carolina. Fishing Creek Lake has a surface area of about 3,112 acres and 63.5 shoreline miles at full pond elevation of 417.2 feet msl. Table 4.8-1 summarizes the shoreline classification for Fishing Creek Lake.

Table 4.8-1.

Shoreline Classification for Fishing Creek Lake

Shoreline Classification	Shoreline Miles	Percent of Total
Commercial /Non-Residential	0.0	0.0%
Commercial /Residential	0.0	0.0%
Residential	3.3	5.0%
Business Industrial	0.1	0.0%
Public Recreation	0.2	0.0%
Public Infrastructure	1.2	2.0%
Project Operations	0.8	1.0%
Future Commercial/Non-Residential	23.2	37.0%
Future Commercial/Residential	0.3	0.5%
Future Residential	10.9	17.0%
Future Public Recreation	3.7	6.0%
Impact Minimization Zones	0.6	1.0%
Environmental Area	17.1	27.0%
Natural Area	2.1	3.0%
Total	63.5	100.0%

4.8.1

Fishing Creek Lake Existing Recreation Areas

There are two developed Duke Power-owned public recreation access locations on Fishing Creek Lake. There is one state park facility and one SCDNR boating access area located along Fishing Creek Lake. Figure 4.8-1 shows the public recreation access locations. There are no public commercial non-residential or commercial residential marinas located on Fishing Creek Lake. The following sections describe the Duke-owned public access area facilities at Fishing Creek Lake.

Existing Duke-Owned Public Access Areas

The developed Duke-owned public access areas provide 25 acres and about 4,395 feet of shoreline frontage of public access at Fishing Creek Lake. Combined, the developed access areas have 2 public boat ramps and about 93 vehicle/trailer parking spaces. Table 4.8-2 summarizes the facilities at the public access areas.

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Figure 4.8-1
Fishing Creek Lake Public Recreation Access Areas

Table 4.8-2.

Fishing Creek Lake Duke-Owned Public Access Areas

Access Area Name	Acreage	Shoreline Frontage (ft)	Boat Ramps	Loading Piers	Fishing Piers	Car Parking (Spaces)	V/T Parking (Spaces)
Cane Creek	4.1	1,129	1	0	0	0	35
Fishing Creek	20.4	3,266	1	0	0	0	58
Total	24.5	4,395	2	0	0	0	93

State and County Public Recreation Facilities

There is one state park, Landsford Canal State Park, in the northern portion of Fishing Creek Lake and one SCDNR boat access area in the middle portion of Fishing Creek Lake. Table 4.8-3 summarizes the recreational facilities provided at the Landsford Canal State Park. The SCDNR boat access provides a parking area and boat launch.

Table 4.8-3.

Summary of Landsford Canal State Park Public
Recreation Facilities

Site Description/Facility	Number
Picnic shelter	1
Community building	1
Picnic tables	20
Nature trail	1 mile
Canoe trail	2.5 miles
Museum	1 (by appointment)
Playground	1
River fishing	1

Existing Commercial and Private Recreation Access

There are no public commercial non-residential or commercial residential marinas located on Fishing Creek Lake. Private access to Fishing Creek Lake is through private marinas and private piers along the Fishing Creek Lake shoreline. Table 4.8-3 shows the estimated number of private piers.

Table 4.8-4.

Summary of Fishing Creek Lake Private Recreational
Access Facilities

Type of Facility	No. Private Facilities
Piers	110

Site-Specific Descriptions of Existing Duke-owned Public Access Areas at
Fishing Creek Lake

The following section provides a description of each Duke-owned public access area at Fishing Creek Lake, including a photograph, site characterisitics, site recreation facilities, and key recreation activities.

Cane Creek Access Area

Figure 4.8-2

Figure 4.8-2.

Cane Creek Access Area

The Cane Creek access area is located in the middle portion of Fishing Creek Lake along the eastern shoreline in Lancaster County, South Carolina. Table 4.8-5 summarizes key site characteristics for the Cane Creek access area.

Table 4.8-5.

Summary of Cane Creek Access Area Site Characteristics

Site Name	Cane Creek
Location	Road 296, Lancaster County, SC
Site Acreage	4.1 acres
Site Facilities	1 boat ramp
Parking	35 paved vehicle/trailer parking spaces
ADA Facilities	None
Key Recreation Activities	Boating, fishing
Recreation Access Fees	None
Key Views	Main lake
Topography	Flat slope
Vegetation	Mixed conifers and hardwoods
Shoreline Footage	1,129 feet
Ownership/Lease	Duke Power/SCDNR

Fishing Creek Access Area

Figure 4.8-3

Figure 4.8-3.

Fishing Creek Access Area

The Fishing Creek access area is located in the lower portion of Fishing Creek Lake along the western shoreline, upstream from the Fishing Creek dam. Table 4.8-6 summarizes key site characteristics for the Fishing Creek access area.

Table 4.8-6.

Summary of Fishing Creek Access Area Site Characteristics

Site Name	Fishing Creek
Location	Highway 21, Chester County, SC
Site Acreage	20.4 acres
Site Facilities	1 boat ramp, lighting
Parking	58 paved vehicle/trailer parking spaces
ADA Facilities	None
Key Recreation Activities	Boating, fishing
Recreation Access Fees	None
Key Views	Main lake and Fishing Creek dam
Topography	Moderate slope
Vegetation	Mixed conifers and hardwoods
Shoreline Footage	3,266 feet
Ownership/Lease	Duke Power/SCDNR

4.8.2

Fishing Creek Lake Recreation Use Assessment

Recreation Use

Visitation at the public access areas on Fishing Creek Lake was derived based on estimates of the traffic entering the Duke-owned public access areas. Total estimated visitation during the 1999 study period for Fishing Creek Lake at these sites was about 58,802 visits. Figure 4.8-4 shows the distribution of the visitation for each month at Fishing Creek Lake for the Duke-owned public access areas during the 1999 study period. A visit is considered a vehicle or vehicle/trailer entering the site for any part of a day.

Figure 4.8-4

Figure 4.8-4.

Fishing Creek Lake Estimate of Recreation Visitation at the
Duke-Owned Access Areas

Table 4.8-7 summarizes the estimated recreation visitation based on traffic counter data for the sampled sites during the 1999 study period. Of the recreation visitation on Fishing Creek Lake, about 64 percent of the recreation visitation occurred at the Fishing Creek access area. Based on survey data input, the estimated ratio for annual visits to the project area for Survey B respondents (respondents that use both public and private access areas) compared to Survey C respondents (respondents at the public access areas) was about a ratio of 1.1 to 1. The estimated overall recreational visitation for Fishing Creek Lake for the 1999 study period totaled 64,067 visits.

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Table 4.8-7

Fishing Creek Lake Estimated Recreation Visitation at Duke-Owned Access Areas

Spot counts were conducted at two sites for Fishing Creek Lake, Cane Creek and Fishing Creek Access areas. Table 4.8-8 lists the number of sample days per month for the spot count data collection.

Table 4.8-8

Spot Count Data Collection by Month

Site	Month
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Cane Creek	1	1	2	2	1	2	2	0	4	1	2	1
Fishing Creek	0	0	1	1	2	3	3	2	3	1	3	1

The total number of surveys received for each survey is listed in Table 4.8-9. Survey D was conducted of marina operators, therefore numbers of surveys sent and received were low. Figure 4.8-5 shows the distribution of recreation activity type for Survey A, Survey B, and Survey C categories. Figure 4.8-6 shows the distribution of recreation activity type combining data from Surveys A, B, and C; spot counts; and tailrace counts. Based on the combined data sources, the primary recreation activity for Fishing Creek Lake during the 1999 study period was bank/pier fishing. For Fishing Creek Lake, no respondents indicated that they recreated on the islands.

Table 4.8-9

Total Responses by Survey

Survey	A	B	C	E	Total
N=	3	4	13	6	26

Figure 4.8-5

Figure 4.8-5.

Fishing Creek Lake Distribution of Recreation Activity Type from
Survey Data Sources

For Fishing Creek Lake, the average party size (average number of recreators in each party) for respondents to Survey A was 2.3 people, for Survey B was 2.8 people, and for Survey C was 2.0. The average party size for all three groups (A, B, and C) was 2.2. The average number of visits per year for Survey B was 51.5 (n=4), for Survey C was 20.8 (n=13), and for combined Survey B and C respondents was 28.1. The average length of stay for Survey B respondents was 16.5 hours (n=4, range from 4 to 48 hours), for Survey C respondents was 4.8 hours, and for combined Survey B and C respondents was 7.6 hours. For Survey A and for Survey B less than 1 percent of the respondents indicated they had land abutting Fishing Creek Lake.

Figure 4.8-6

Figure 4.8-6.

Fishing Creek Lake Distribution of Recreation Activity Type from
all Data Sources

Table 4.8-10 summarizes the perceived crowding ratings for Fishing Creek Lake for each survey type, including a combined rating for Survey A, B, and C responses. Recreators on Fishing Creek Lake (Surveys A, B, and C) indicated weekday crowding was about low-range (on a scale of 1 to 5) and weekend crowding was mid-range. There were no Survey D responses to the crowding ratings on Fishing Creek Lake. The lake rescue and management groups were asked for crowding ratings only for the higher use lakes within the Catawba-Wateree system, including James, Hickory, Norman, Wylie and Wateree.

Table 4.8-10.

Fishing Creek Lake Perceived Crowding Ratings

	Weekday		Weekend
Survey	Avg. of Rating	N=	Avg. of Rating	N=
A	1.0	2	1.0	2
B	2.3	4	3.3	4
C	3.0	4	1.6	8
Combined A,B,C*	2.3	10	2.0	14
D	NA	NA	NA	NA
E	NA	NA	NA	NA

*Weighted Average.

Figure 4.8-7 shows the distribution of boating activity type for Fishing Creek Lake based on Surveys A, B, and C individually when c

Final Shoreline Management Plan Update for the Catawba-Wateree Hydro Project

(FERC No. 2232) Appendix B

Total

Final Shoreline Management
Plan Update for the
Catawba-Wateree Hydro Project

(FERC No. 2232)

Appendix B