OUR STORY

A small group of Badin Lake homeowners met to discuss ways to remove the algae.

Test at NOAA Lab indicated algae could be killed using Nano Bubble Oxygenation Technology (NBOT).

We met with NC Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) and they rejected our license request for NBOT.

After meeting with various N.C. government agencies, we recognized we needed regulatory and scientific assistance.

We reached out to the Yadkin Reverkeeper (YRK) for their knowledge and assistance. We continued looking for other solutions.

We met Sea and Shoreline (S&S), the world’s largest shoreline and water restoration company. They were involved with a similar algae project at Crystal River, Florida.

We engaged S&S to work with us and following the SCR model we prepared a business document for our pilot.

Several community-wide meetings were held to present our vision for Restore Badin Lake (RBL).

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) and Cube Hydro of the Carolinas agreed to fund and conduct a pilot of algaecide treatments they were also testing on Lake Gaston.

RBL was granted a NC non-profit and 501c3 status. We continued to work with N.C. regulatory agencies to secure a license to pilot a program to remove the algae and plant native vegetation.

Throughout 2024 and into early 2025, we presented our pilot to a NCDEQ. The pilot requirements placed on RBL made it impossible for us to afford to conduct the pilot. We respectfully, withdrew our pilot request.

NC State Laboratory announced they were approving the expansion of a pilot program they had been conducting on Lake Gaston to kill the same algae we had on Badin Lake. We applied for and received a license.

RBL conducted treatments from June to September (4 treatments) on 14.2 acres. The results were very good and we plan to continue with 6 treatments per year for the next 3-4 years.