About The Council

The Kerr-buggs Island Safety Council is a non-profit organization formed to:

  1. Promote safety in all recreation activities in and around John H. Kerr reservoir
  2. Provide a meeting location and topic format for its members
  3. Provide programs for citizen group meetings to promote recreation safety
  4. Distribute recreation safety information
  5. Make recommendation to the appropriate officials concerning matters affecting recreation safety

The membership of the Council shall consist of those organizations and agencies and interested persons who will promote recreation safety through education, training, safety inspections and/or law enforcement.

The idea of promoting safety on the lake to prevent accidents and deaths was originated by the Corps of Engineers in the 1970's. Local Corps officials at Kerr-Buggs Island Lake recognized the need for involvement well beyond the Corps of Engineers. The Kerr-Buggs Island Safety Council was formed when personnel from the Corps of Engineers, local agencies, and the general public joined forces to promote safety on the lake. Agencies that have typically participated with the Safety Council include the Corps of Engineers, sheriff's departments, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, NC State Parks, VA State Parks, US Coast Guard Auxiliaryand rescue squads. Private citizens have been actively involved since the beginning of the safety council and represent a very important element of the council. The K-BI Safety Council is affiliated with the National Water Safety Council.

The Safety Council meets on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 1:00 pm. We start in January in Virginia and alternate every other month between Virginia and North Carolina. Regular meetings are used to discuss safety issues related to the lake and to decide upon projects that will be pursued by the Council. Past projects include purchase and set-up of a VHF radio monitoring channel 16 at the hydro plant control room, safety placemats for distribution to local businesses, sponsoring a safety booth at Lakefest, personal water craft safety demonstrations at Lakefest, and purchasing breathalyzers for the North Carolina law enforcement officials that patrol the lake. The latest accomplishment of the safety council has been the development of this web page to more effectively communicate lake safety issues and the activities of the council. The safety council would like to thank NCOL.Net who donated the space for the web page and Chuck Elgin of the KBI Safety Council who volunteers his efforts to update and enhance this web..

The Kerr-Buggs Island Safety Council would like to extend an open invitation to citizens and agencies to get involved and help make the lake a safer place for our friends and family to enjoy. More information can be obtained through an on-line request, by attending the next regular meeting or by contacting Tom Charles at (434) 738-6143.