Lake Conestee Nature Park facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lake Conestee Nature Preserve
Great Blue Heron in Lake Conestee Nature Preserve
Lake Conestee Nature Preserve Location in South Carolina
Location	Greenville County, South Carolina
Nearest city	Greenville, South Carolina
Area	400 acres (160 ha)
Governing body	Conestee Foundation Greenville County Recreation District

The Lake Conestee Nature Preserve is a cool place in Conestee, South Carolina. It opened in 2006 and covers about 400 acres (that's like 300 football fields!). You can explore it on 13 miles (about 21 km) of trails, including paved paths and a fun boardwalk.

It's full of different kinds of trees, wetlands (swampy areas), and lots of animals like reptiles, mammals, and birds. Over 214 types of birds have been seen here! Because of all the amazing birds, the National Audubon Society calls it a really important place for birds worldwide. In 2016, South Carolina even made it a special wildlife sanctuary.

History of Lake Conestee

The lake itself was made around 1892 when a dam was built on the Reedy River near the Conestee Mill. At its biggest, the lake was about 130 acres (53 ha).

Pollution and Cleanup

For many years, factories upstream released waste into the river. This waste filled about 90 percent of the lake with really dirty mud. It was so bad that the lake was called a "Superfund" site. This is a special name given by the government to places that are very polluted and need a big cleanup.

In 2000, a group called the Conestee Foundation was started. They wanted to help bring the lake back to life as a natural wetland. They used money from a settlement after a pipeline spill in 1996 to buy the lake and the dam.

Scientists studied the dirty mud carefully. They found that it was safe to leave the toxic mud where it was, as long as people didn't dig it up. This meant the area could become a safe nature preserve without needing to remove all the old pollution.

The Conestee Dam

The Conestee Dam holds back the Reedy River to form Lake Conestee. In 2016, state inspectors looked at the dam. They found that it was in "poor condition" because some of the mortar (the stuff that holds the bricks together) was breaking down, and water was leaking through.

Images for kids

• 

  View of Lake Conestee

• 

  The Reedy River in Lake Conestee Nature Preserve

• 

  A boardwalk through Lake Conestee Nature Preserve

• 

  Lake Conestee is formed by the Conestee Dam on the Reedy River