Absence of lifeguards is typical for state parks: "(By Joe Marusak, jmarusak@charlotteobserver.com) Competition from higher-paying swimming pools in Mecklenburg County and gated Lake Norman subdivisions has left Lake Norman State Park without lifeguards since 2002, a state parks official said.
'This has always been a problem,' said Charlie Peek, spokesman for the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation in Raleigh."