University Lake is a manmade freshwater lake in Carrboro, North Carolina.[2] The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill created the lake in 1932 by building two dams,[3] at the confluence of the Morgan Creek, Phil's Creek, Neville Creek, Price Creek, and Pritchard's Mill Creek.[4] Marshes occur where the creeks meet with the lake, and this serves as environment for wildlife such as various species of waterfowl.[5] It was originally built to act as a water reservoir for UNC's campus,[4] and the neighboring communities of Carrboro and Chapel Hill.[6] Severe droughts in the 1960s and 1970s lowered the water level, and it soon became necessary for a new reservoir to be built to complement University Lake.[7] It was the sole source of water to the Orange Water and Sewer Authority until the Cane Creek Reservoir was built.[8] The lake is open in the summer for public fishing and recreation.[9] The UNC women's rowing team also trains on the lake.[4]

References

  1. ^ "University Lake".
  2. ^ "University Lake". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  3. ^ Odum, Eugene; Taylor, Edmund; Coker, Coit; Breckenridge, Arnold (1935). "The Birds of Chapel Hill, North Carolina". Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society. 51 (2): 312–340. ISSN 0013-6220. JSTOR 24332868.
  4. ^ a b c "University Lake · Water at UNC-Chapel Hill · Carolina Story: Virtual Museum of University History". museum.unc.edu. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
  5. ^ Cane Creek Water Supply Reservoir Permit: Environmental Impact Statement. 1981. p. 50.
  6. ^ Day Trips from Raleigh-Durham: Getaway Ideas for the Local Traveler. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-7627-5210-2.
  7. ^ Madry, Sarah Brandes (March 2004). Well Worth a Shindy: The Architectural and Philosophical History of the Old Well at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. iUniverse. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-595-30057-0.
  8. ^ "Impact of Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1986 on Selected Utilities in NOrth Carolina".
  9. ^ "University Lake". www.visitchapelhill.org. Retrieved 2024-03-30.

35°53′47″N 79°05′39″W / 35.89639°N 79.09417°W / 35.89639; -79.09417