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North Carolina / Waters /

Lake Hickory

Lake in North Carolina, near Claremont, Granite Falls, Hickory, Northlakes, Rhodhiss and Taylorsville

Current status

No current status shown

No current status is assigned to this water outline. Check the water page for reports and any estimated downstream stretches. Why this status, and its source

Map sources: water outlines and launches from OpenBoatLaunch and OpenStreetMap contributors (Open Database License); wastewater outlets from EPA and state records; downstream estimates by DirtyWaterWatch using U.S. Geological Survey maps and flow data. Base map: OpenFreeMap and OpenMapTiles.

Square boat markers mark boat launches listed by OpenBoatLaunch.

Check City of Hickory's notices · Bookmark this water page and check it before each trip · Report a missing notice or error

About this status

No current status shown: no report we track sets a status on this water now; how statuses work. No status does not mean the water is safe. Follow posted signs and local health advice.

Sources checked: NC DWR Sanitary Sewer Overflows September 2022 through December 2025 (ArcGIS) (last successful check 2026-11-04 06:57 UTC); NC DEQ DWR "SSOs and Bypasses" ArcGIS layer (last successful check 2026-11-05 01:08 UTC); NC DEQ Fish Kills and Algal Blooms public reports (Fish_Kill_Algal_Bloom_Public_View) (last successful check 2026-11-04 06:57 UTC). Status by DirtyWaterWatch, updated 2026-11-05 01:25 UTC. · Updated

The last 90 days

Last 90 days, hour by hour. Red: discharge or advisory reported. Amber: caution. Hatched amber: end not confirmed. Plum: algal bloom advisory. Red or amber with a light line inside: beach advisory or caution. Dotted: monthly report (days with discharge, dates not given). Grey: no current status on the water outline. Purple hatching: source update overdue.
  • Caution: to
    2 reports: City of Hickory 2
    Show records

    The records are also in the report table on this page.

  • Discharge or advisory reported: to
    1 report: City of Hickory 1
    Show records

    The records are also in the report table on this page.

  • Caution: to
    1 report: City of Hickory 1
    Show records

    The records are also in the report table on this page.

  • Discharge or advisory reported: to
    1 report: City of Hickory 1
    Show records

    The records are also in the report table on this page.

  • Caution: to
    1 report: City of Hickory 1
    Show records

    The records are also in the report table on this page.

  • Discharge or advisory reported: to
    1 report: City of Hickory 1
    Show records

    The records are also in the report table on this page.

Source: DirtyWaterWatch calculations using the reports named above and the published status rules. Updated 2026-11-05 01:25 UTC.

Reported discharges over time

  • Discharges affecting Lake Hickory in North Carolina, last 12 months77 affecting this lake: 7 reported on Lake Hickory; none arriving from upstreamDecember 2025 to November 2026Verified reports where available, else notices; revisions and duplicates counted once. Arriving discharges are estimated from modeled downstream reaches.
  • Days with a discharge affecting Lake Hickory in North Carolina, last 12 months6Reported on Lake Hickory in North Carolina: 6 · Arriving from outfalls upstream, estimated: 0 (counted apart; together they need not equal the total)December 2025 to November 2026A day counts once however many discharges were under way on it.
  • Hours with a discharge or advisory status on Lake Hickory in North Carolina, last 12 months12Reported on Lake Hickory in North Carolina: 12 · Arriving from outfalls upstream, estimated: 0December 2025 to November 2026Red hours by the map's rules: each discharge to its reported end plus the state's post-discharge period; overlapping hours count once.
  • 2026 season with a discharge or advisory status on Lake Hickory in North Carolina0.2%May to October 2026Share of May 1 to October 31 hours with red status by the map's rules, of the hours a source covered.
  • Records behind the last-90-days strip for Lake Hickory in North Carolina3Reported on Lake Hickory in North Carolina: 3 · Arriving from outfalls upstream, estimated: 0last 90 daysEvery distinct record the strip lists for its red, yellow and unresolved hours, notices and unresolved reports included; counted as the strip counts them.

Combined sewer overflow (CSO): sewage mixed with rainwater spills from a shared sewer system. Sanitary sewer overflow (SSO): sewage spills from a sewer meant to carry sewage separately from rainwater. Treatment bypass: wastewater skips one or more treatment steps. Blended discharge: wastewater that skipped some treatment is mixed with treated wastewater. Outfall: a pipe or outlet where wastewater enters a water body.

Reported discharges per month

12 reported discharges, January 2022 to November 2026.

  • Combined sewer overflow
  • Sanitary sewer overflow
  • Treatment bypass, blended or other
  • No tracked source for this period
  • Incomplete source coverage

No tracked source covers January 2022 to August 2022.

Sources: nc-dwr-sso-2022-2025; nc-dwr-sso-2026. Records cover September 1, 2022 to November 4, 2026.

Show table

Hours with a discharge or advisory status per month

Hours when this water had a discharge or advisory status under DirtyWaterWatch rules.

  • Discharge or advisory reported

5 discharge reports have no end time and are not marked ongoing; under DirtyWaterWatch rules they show caution, not a discharge or advisory status, and add no hours here.

Sources: nc-dwr-sso-2022-2025; nc-dwr-sso-2026; nc-fish-kill-algal-bloom. Records cover July 1, 2015 to November 4, 2026.

Show table

Days with a reported discharge per month

A day counts when any counted discharge was under way on it, from its start to its reported end in Eastern Time; a report with no end counts its start day.

  • No tracked source for this period
  • Incomplete source coverage

No tracked source covers January 2022 to August 2022.

Sources: nc-dwr-sso-2022-2025; nc-dwr-sso-2026. Records cover September 1, 2022 to November 4, 2026.

Show table

Reported discharges per year, 2015 to 2026

12 reported discharges, 2015 to 2026.

  • Combined sewer overflow
  • Sanitary sewer overflow
  • Treatment bypass, blended or other
  • No tracked source for this period
  • Incomplete source coverage
No tracked source

No tracked source covers 2015 to 2021.

Sources: nc-dwr-sso-2022-2025; nc-dwr-sso-2026. Records cover September 1, 2022 to November 4, 2026.

Show table

Reported volume per year

Gallons (axis: K thousand, M million), summed from the 12 reports that gave a volume as a number.

  • No tracked source for this period
  • Incomplete source coverage
No tracked source

No tracked source covers 2015 to 2021.

Sources: nc-dwr-sso-2022-2025; nc-dwr-sso-2026. Records cover September 1, 2022 to November 4, 2026.

Show table

Hours with a discharge or advisory status per year

Hours with a discharge or advisory status each year under DirtyWaterWatch rules; 2026 to date.

  • Discharge or advisory reported
  • Incomplete source coverage

5 discharge reports have no end time and are not marked ongoing; under DirtyWaterWatch rules they show caution, not a discharge or advisory status, and add no hours here.

Sources: nc-dwr-sso-2022-2025; nc-dwr-sso-2026; nc-fish-kill-algal-bloom. Records cover July 1, 2015 to November 4, 2026.

Show table

Share of the May to October season with a discharge or advisory status

Share of the hours from May 1 to October 31 with a discharge or advisory status under DirtyWaterWatch rules.

  • Discharge or advisory reported
  • Season with incomplete source coverage

Seasons with incomplete source coverage: 2015. The share is of the hours a source covered. 5 discharge reports have no end time and are not marked ongoing; under DirtyWaterWatch rules they show caution, not a discharge or advisory status, and add no hours here.

Sources: nc-dwr-sso-2022-2025; nc-dwr-sso-2026; nc-fish-kill-algal-bloom. Records cover July 1, 2015 to November 4, 2026.

Show table

Reported discharges by calendar month, all years

Every counted discharge report, by the calendar month it began.

Months are summed over every year a tracked source covers; the table gives the number of years behind each month.

Sources: nc-dwr-sso-2022-2025; nc-dwr-sso-2026. Records cover September 1, 2022 to November 4, 2026.

Show table

Reported discharges by wastewater outlet

Wastewater outlets with the most tracked discharge records: 7 of 7, all years. Counts depend on reporting coverage and do not measure legal compliance or harm.

Sources: nc-dwr-sso-2022-2025; nc-dwr-sso-2026. Records cover September 1, 2022 to November 4, 2026.

Show table
How these charts are counted

We count each discharge once. Where a source publishes notices and confirmed reports, we use confirmed reports for an operator's month when available; otherwise we use notices. We combine revisions and exclude duplicate state reports copied by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Monthly and yearly totals appear separately. Status hours follow this site's rules. Shaded gaps mean missing coverage, not zero discharges.

  • nc-dwr-sso-2022-2025: records from September 1, 2022 to February 15, 2026
  • nc-dwr-sso-2026: records from January 2, 2026 to the latest update
  • nc-fish-kill-algal-bloom: records from July 1, 2015 to March 10, 2026

Reports linked to Lake Hickory

12 sewage reports · 5 algal bloom advisories

Cyanobacteria (harmful blue-green algae) can make water unfit for contact; the issuing authority decides when its advisory ends.

Reports linked to Lake Hickory, newest first
WhenReportStatus
to 2:30 PMHickory Collection System · 321 31st Avenue, Hickory · SSO · 120 gallons report · notice · mapended
to 12:30 AMHickory Collection System · 535 43rd Avenue Court, Hickory · SSO · 60 gallons report · notice · mapended
to 2:00 AMHickory Collection System · 658-698 21st Northwest Avenue, Hickory · SSO · 200 gallons report · notice · mapended
to 11:40 AMHickory Collection System · 179 Wildlife access road · SSO · 6,080 gallons report · notice · mapended
to 8:07 PMHickory Collection System · 4250 2nd Northeast Street, Hickory, Nc, Hickory · SSO · 872 gallons report · notice · mapended
to 12:37 PMHickory Collection System · 715 21st Avenue Drive, Hickory · SSO · 334 gallons report · notice · mapended
to 3:40 PMHickory Collection System · 2200 6th Street, Hickory · SSO · 70 gallons report · notice · mapended
NC DEQ Division of Water Resources (fish kill and algal bloom reports) · Algae advisory · volume not reported report · notice · mapreported
Hickory Collection System · SSO · 100 gallons report · notice · mapended
Hickory Collection System · SSO · 3,700 gallons report · notice · mapended
NC DEQ Division of Water Resources (fish kill and algal bloom reports) · Algae advisory · volume not reported report · notice · mapreported
NC DEQ Division of Water Resources (fish kill and algal bloom reports) · Algae advisory · volume not reported report · notice · mapreported
NC DEQ Division of Water Resources (fish kill and algal bloom reports) · Algae advisory · volume not reported report · notice · mapreported
Hickory Collection System · SSO · 50 gallons report · notice · mapended
NC DEQ Division of Water Resources (fish kill and algal bloom reports) · Algae advisory · volume not reported report · notice · mapreported
Hickory Collection System · SSO · 540 gallons report · notice · mapended
Hickory Collection System · SSO · 360 gallons report · notice · mapended

Sources: NC DEQ DWR "SSOs and Bypasses" ArcGIS layer, retrieved 2026-11-05 01:08 UTC; NC DEQ Fish Kills and Algal Blooms public reports (Fish_Kill_Algal_Bloom_Public_View), retrieved 2026-11-04 06:57 UTC; NC DWR Sanitary Sewer Overflows September 2022 through December 2025 (ArcGIS), retrieved 2026-11-04 06:57 UTC. A report's record id and times show when you hover or focus its "report" link.

Download these reports as CSV

All reports in North Carolina by year: 2026 (7 here) · 2025 (2 here) · 2024 (4 here) · 2023 (4 here)

Wastewater outlets on this water

No wastewater outlet in our records is linked to this water.

Sewer operators listed for this water: City of Hickory.

Boat launches

Source: OpenBoatLaunch launch records (public agency data and OpenStreetMap, Open Database License). · Lake Hickory on OpenBoatLaunch

Nearby waters

Sources covering this water

17 records linked to this water: 12 sewage reports, 5 algal bloom advisories. Updated .