TVA officials said Friday they do not believe planned water releases from the Appalachia Dam will harm trout or other wildlife in the Hiwassee River.
TVA's Jimmie Hopson said,"TVA is currently conducting routine maintenance activities on the Apalachia Dam. As part of the work, we are sending divers down to clean the intakes that are used to move water from the reservoir to the turbines in the downstream powerhouse. For their safety, we can’t use those intakes while they are working.
"In order to maintain the proper flow of water in the river, we are going to be opening the spill gates on the dam to allow a limited quantity of water into the riverbed, but only during the period when the divers are working, which is expected to be between 7 a.m.
and 3 p.m. from September 15-19. From 3 p.m. to 7 a.m., water will follow its normal path through the turbines so you won’t see any difference during those times.
"We recognize the impact that significant changes in temperature can have on the trout fishing downstream and we took a very close look at the potential impacts of spilling the water. Our initial assessments indicate that the limited spilling during the coolest part of the day should have very little effect on downstream water temperatures. In addition, remember that we will be restoring the typical water flow no later than 3 p.m. each day, so we will have “normal” river operations during the hottest portion of each day and overnight.
"TVA will be monitoring the river during these activities. Safeguards have been put in place to ensure that temperatures do not exceed historic observed levels for this time of year and, if we see temperatures approaching that level, work will be postponed and the normal river flow restored.
"Based on this information and the weather forecast for cooler seasonal temperatures next week, we do not believe there will be any impact on the trout populations. However, because we have received several messages from concerned outdoor enthusiasts, we had another team of biologists taking a second look at the river conditions today and coordinating with TWRA officials to ensure our original assessment was correct.
"I can assure you that we are very sensitive to the need to support a healthy river environment as part of TVA’s overall mission. With the checks and double-checks of the current conditions on the Hiawassee, we will only move forward with this work in we think it can be done safely."