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CHARLOTTE – Mecklenburg County commissioners could lift a 32-year-old swimming ban at the county’s waterfront parks at Tuesday night’s meeting.

That could lead to reopening public beaches on Lake Norman and Lake Wylie. Commissioners first enacted the ban in 1977 after three swimmers drowned at McDowell Nature Preserve.

Currently, the closest public swimming access on Lake Norman to Charlotte is in the Iredell County town of Troutman.

Public swimming would need to be approved by Duke Energy, which controls the lakes. Officials say public beaches may not be ready for swimmers until 2012.