A new culvert bridge was installed on the stream connecting Winchester and Greystone Lake to allow heavy equipment and truck access to the western end of Greystone Lake for maintenance and repairs.
The week of August 6, 2001, the Greystone Lake level was lowered in order to install erosion protection along the face of the Greystone Lake dam. Considerable dam face has been lost from wave action. This erosion protection consists of rip-rap stone over a geo-textile membrane and is in general accordance with NC guidelines. The protection starts at a point below water level and extends upward to the 100 year flood point (approximately six feet). This rip-rap starts at the spillway and extends 400 feet (approximately to the trees). It was necessary to lower the lake level 12-28 inches during this work. The rip-rap rock (135 tons) was trucked in from the Valley Lake Drive entrance and, as expected, caused extensive damage to the grass between the entrance and the dam. The damage will be repaired in September.
A homeowner recently took beaver removal into their own hands and illegally placed a cocked, spring-loaded, steel trap in a stream feeding Bakers Lake. This type of trap can seriously injure or permanently maim a child or animal that steps into its jaws. Apparently, whoever set this trap believes a few trees on their property are more important than the safety and welfare of children (and pets).
The trap was discovered by a crew hired by Greystone Association to tear out the beaver dams. Hidden under water, the trap was found purely by chance. Fortunately, no one was injured by its discovery and removal. However, for the safety of the work crews, all dam removal was halted and the lakes and streams were closed to all residents and guests until the pond could be safely searched for more traps.
Charleston Management Company informed the Greystone Association Board of Directors that on August 6, 2001, the beaver dam where the trap was located has been removed and that no additional traps were found (at a cost of approximately $1,000 to homeowners).. Also, Charleston Management Company has informed the Board that visual inspection of the streams leading into and out of our lakes did not locate any traps.
Because no additional traps were located, the lakes and streams are no longer closed to residents and guests; however, CAUTION SHOULD STILL BE EXERCISED. The fact that no additional traps were located does not mean that additional traps are not present, or that the person or persons (idiots, or worse, criminals) who placed the traps on the Greystone property will not do so again. To repeat – CAUTION MUST BE EXERCISED. It is important that children, grandchildren and their friends are told that traps were found and given appropriate instructions on how to safely enjoy our natural areas without risk from any unfound traps or traps that may be placed in our streams and lakes in the future. Caution them to avoid vegetation or other material under which a trap could be located and avoid wading into streams where the bottom cannot be seen.
For more information contact Charleston Management, 847-3003.
Originally, mowing the lake edge was stopped as a cost measure as it was hand work ,with weed wackers and power saws, and quite time consuming. Later, after discussions with the Neuse River people and NCSU, we found that we were unwittingly practicing "recommended practices" for the Neuse River Basin. The idea being-- An unmowed strip along the lake or creek reduces "run-off" soil erosion much better than grass alone.
The NCSU people also agreed that this buffer also provided some protection against wave and current erosion. They also said the shading provided was beneficial to water inhabitants. As the growth along the lake becomes denser, the area is becoming less goose friendly. To inhibit the growth of the water shrubs and other woody growth, it is planned to cut back this edge growth yearly. This cutting will be done each Fall. (The existing contract will be modified to require this action.)
For more information on current policies and perspectives on mowing around the lakes see: Greystone Lake Report and Perspective (09/05/01)
On Monday and Tuesday, February 19th and 20th, a City of Raleigh subcontractor, Environmental Clearing, cleared a 20 foot easement around both sides of Mine Creek from Lead Mine road to Greystone Lake and around the sewer lines on the southwest end of Greystone Lake. This clearing did considerable damage to the greenway around the Lake. We have been assured by Jack Moyer, Assistant Public Utilities Director, that the greenway will be restored to its original condition. Concerned homeowners and Board members met with the Inspection Supervisor, Curtis Stevens, Thursday, February 22 at 10:00 am (in the sleet and snow) for a tour and assessment of the damage around the lake. Mr. Stevens, and his assistant, Doug Hale, assured the group that the debris would be cleaned up, soil graded and grass planted within approximately two weeks. The city has also agreed to rip-rap areas of erosion near sewer lines on the southwest end of the lake. The group will meet again to inspect and assess the cleanup. Furthermore, the city is also going to repair root-damage to sewer lines on the creek connecting Winchester and Greystone Lakes and will rip-rap areas of erosion on the bend in the creek near the sewer lines. If you have any questions, please contact the Public Utilities Director, Dale Crisp, at 890-3400, or Merle Marxen at 847-2952.
The December 8 News & Observer reports that the sewer at Leadmine and Strickland overflowed for seven days, starting November 27, into Leadmine creek. The amount of sewage was estimated to be 69,000 gallons. This is the creek that flows into Greystone Lake. As the lake level was down at this time and was just starting to refill, and the lake was not quite full; it is feared that most, if not all of the sewage, is currently in the lake. Merle Marxen, Chair of the Greystone Maintenance Committee, called the City Utility Department and their response was that we shouldn't worry about it as it would be quite dilute. They may be right, but Merle thinks it would a good idea not to eat any fish caught in the lake for a couple of months.
This following information was received by Bob Anderson, 2/20/01, from Jack W. Moyer, Assistant Public Utilities Director, via fax:
"This transmittal is to provide further detail on the recent fecal coliform
analyses in the Greystone Lakes. As I mentioned in our earlier conversation,
fecal coliform analyses include the waste of humans and all forms of
animals, as well as fecal regrowth in some situations. Cutting edge research
that distinguishes species sources of fecal is finding very high fecal
contribution in urban areas from both wild and domestic animals.
The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources water
quality standard for fecal levels in waters such as the lakes and streams in
your neighborhood is 200 total fecal coliform colony forming units per 100
milliliters of water (CFU/ 100ml). The two recent samples at the Greystone
lakes were 13 for the north lake and 46 for the south lake, both well below
the DENR standard. As discussed, these give you a good baseline. I would
expect that these levels would routinely fluctuate up into the hundreds."
If you have any further concerns, call the City Public Utilities Operations Division at (919) 250-2737. It might be a good idea to ask why the residents were not informed of the spill. If it had occurred in the Summer, with children playing in the entering stream of the lake this might have been a real health hazard.
Winchester & Greystone Lake Levels Lowered for Repairs & Improvements (11/09/00)
Merle
Marxen & the LakeWatch Committees have been hard at work
upgrading the emergency spillway of Winchester Lake to prevent further
erosion. Rip rap was
cleared from the upper spillway surface and concrete removed from the
spillway, replacing the scrapped off surface
Increased runoff has caused serious drainage and flooding problems for
many Greystone homeowners. As well, increased runoff is causing
accelerated silting, erosion and shelving of our lakes and common areas. The
Raleigh City Council has authorized a study of drainage conditions in the Mine
Creek drainage basin of which Greystone is a part. Greystone
homeowners are strongly encouraged to attend the public meeting being held to further
explain this study and to accept citizen comment on issues which should
be
addressed in this study. A conceptual plan and report will be
prepared at the conclusion of this study, and will be available to the public.
This plan will include the location of existing and future potential drainage
problems and make recommendations for possible improvements. Once
the report is complete (approximately 1 year), property owners in the area
of concern may benefit from recommendations contained in this report.
REGISTER
A SPECIFIC COMPLAINT. Print and mail it to the
address listed. Respondents will be contacted by the City and will
receive a specific site inspection. Click to open and
print a form via your word processor
or your web browser.
FOR MORE INFORMATION contact Merle Marxen, 847-2952, Ellen Kinsinger, 870-6454 or Veronica L. High, Project Engineer, City of Raleigh Stormwater Services, 890-3801.
Details on this study will hopefully be available soon on the City of Raleigh Civil Engineering's Stormwater Services Website. Check it regularly for details.
Doug Lintelman has busy as Winchester Lake Chair. Homeowners on Winchester Lake have a terrible problem with geese "pollution." Doug requested and received Greystone Association Board approval to pay for half the cost of 2 foot fencing along the perimeter of Winchester Lake to keep the geese off the greenway (apparently, the geese do not cross the fencing). He has also secured approval from the Winchester Pointe Community Board for the other half. Fencing has been installed on one side of the lake and already the residents are happy with the results. Volunteers are needed to complete the fencing on the Winchester Pointe side. If you'd like to volunteer, please contact Doug Lintelman, 844-1854, or Ellie Vali, 848.4990, ellie.vali@gartner.com.
Doug also spent a hot Saturday afternoon, June 10th, sealing benches around the lake. What a dedicated homeowner. Thank you Doug!
The Greystone Lake Committee, chaired by Jay Shapiro, has also been very active. They have toured, the Lakes and compiled a prioritized list of repairs and improvements.
Merle Marxen has been as active as ever, most recently dealing with the Beaver problem on Bakers Lake. He is also working through the list developed by the Lakes Committees, starting with the highest priority issues. He will be requesting McClain Landscaping to replant a large bare spot on Winchester Lake with Bermuda grass. The geese ate the seed last fall, so the seed will be covered with matting. Thank you, Merle, for your ongoing time and energy spent keeping Greystone beautiful!