Just How Dangerous Are North Carolina’s Lakes?

Lakes, rivers, and oceans offer plenty of recreation options, but unfortunately, they can be dangerous. There is a level of risk always present whenever you get into the water, whether it be to swim, boat, or anything else. North Carolina has some fantastic lakes, a large coastline, and plenty of rivers, all of which are extensively frequented during certain portions of the year. Today, we are going to take a look at these bodies of water and learn: How dangerous are North Carolina lakes? Plus, we’ll cover how North Carolina ranks compared to other states in its water-based danger, how often drownings occur, and other dangerous factors in the water. The answers are a little surprising!

How Dangerous Are North Carolina Lakes?

North Carolina has one of the lowest drowning rates of any state, doesn’t have extremely dangerous animals that live in most of its lakes, and doesn’t have too many environmental factors that could possibly cause danger for lake-goers. Overall, North Carolina lakes are safe.

Drowning Rates in North Carolina

Drowning is a serious public health problem that claims the lives of thousands of people every year in the United States. According to the CDC, drowning is the fifth leading cause of death for people of all ages, and the second leading cause for children ages up to fourteen. However, drowning rates vary widely by state, depending on factors such as population, geography, climate, and water safety policies.

North Carolina has one of the lowest drowning rates in the country. From 2018-2021, age-adjusted, North Carolina saw a rate of 1.2 deaths per 100,000 people due to drowning, compared to the national average of 1.31. This means that North Carolina had about 107 drowning deaths in 2019 out of a population of over 10 million.

However, despite the low drowning rate, North Carolina still faces some challenges and risks when it comes to water safety. For instance, some groups of people have higher rates of drowning than others.

Additionally, some types of water bodies have higher rates of drowning than others. In fact, it’s a bit surprising that North Carolina doesn’t have a higher rate due to its coastal positioning and high number of white water opportunities and rivers.

How North Carolina Compares to Other States

North Carolina is one of the safest states in the country when it comes to drowning. Currently, North Carolina sits in the lower half of states (1.2), with the four groupings as follows:

• 0.74 – 1.11
• 1.12-1.34
• 1.35 – 1.57
• 1.58 – 4.40

This is lower than the national average of 1.31 per 100,000 people, and much lower than the states with the highest drowning rates, such as Alaska (4.97), Hawaii (2.90), Louisiana (2.20), and Florida (2.01). The low ranking of North Carolina may reflect some of its advantages (geographic and weather-based ones) or just effective water safety policy across the state.

North Carolina has a relatively short coastline compared to other coastal states (at least when compared to those on the upper end of the rankings), which reduces the exposure to the ocean. North Carolina also has a moderate climate that limits the use of the water for certain parts of the year, which in turn can affect the water conditions and the number of people who are interested in getting in the water (i.e., it’s cold, so nobody is swimming).

Dangerous Animals in Lakes and Rivers

On top of the relatively low drowning rate, North Carolina doesn’t have any serious threats from dangerous animals in the inland lakes and streams.

Far and away, the most “dangerous” animal in the water in North Carolina is the water moccasin, mostly due to its prevalence across the state. Even still, they will avoid humans most of the time and bites are rarely fatal, albeit serious and extremely painful.

The most famous “dangerous” animal that inhabits lakes and rivers in North Carolina is the alligator. North Carolina is the most northern state with a continuous alligator population, and even then they are only in small portions of the state to the far southeastern coastal plains. They don’t attack humans very often and so far, there has never been a confirmed death from an alligator in the state.

A potential third threat (and definitely the least known) is the amoeba. Naegleria fowleri is a microscopic amoeba that can cause a rare but deadly brain infection. It lives in warm freshwater bodies, including lakes, ponds, rivers, and hot springs. The infection usually enters the human body through the nose when someone swims or dives in dirty water. It then travels to the brain and destroys brain tissue, causing severe symptoms like headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, stiff neck, seizures, coma, and death. The infection is very difficult to diagnose and treat and it has a fatality rate of over 97%. The best way to prevent these amoebae is to not disturb the sediment at the bottom of the water, which is where they live. Also, using nose plugs can help prevent contamination. Again, these are rare instances, with six cases from 1962 to 2019 being recorded.