Property owners along Lake Murray may be receiving a stern letter from Dominion Energy about how they’ve been managing their portion of the lakefront.
The power company which owns the Midlands’ largest artificial lake and its 650 miles of shoreline is notifying residents of potential violations of its shoreline policy — the rules meant to maintain the shores of Lake Murray and that regulate amenities like boat docks on the water.
Anything below the 360-foot line of the lake’s maximum elevation belongs to the power company, and Dominion regularly patrols the shoreline for violations of its policy, and violators can face consequences.
“The shoreline of Lake Murray is not a long-term storage area or junkyard or for abandoned, derelict, non-functioning, dilapidated boats, platforms (floating or otherwise), or other structures or equipment,” Dominion says in its permitting handbook.
Any such structures or objects found along the lake shore “will be considered non-compliant, unpermitted potential hazards and/or nuisances,” the book states. “If located on or tethered to the shoreline owned by Dominion Energy, it also shall be considered a trespass and dealt with accordingly.”
Encroachments on the shoreline include any land-based structures as well as fences, seawalls, septic tanks, vehicles or material storage. No drainage or “effluent discharge” into the lake is allowed. Owners also can’t place coverings or roofs on any boat lifts or docks within 16 feet of the 360-foot line.