From East Tennessee Boating Club Newsletter
| Some ETBC members have been communicating with TVA regarding Boone Lake Water Levels. I wanted to pass on an email conversation I had with James Everett, General Manager for TVA’s River Management organization to give you an idea of how TVA operates…….. James: Was wondering if you could share why Boone is so behind schedule in filling up, especially since Watauga is near full and most of the other lakes in the system are not as far behind as Boone, if at all. (All according to the Ops Guides.) We realize lack of rain is an issue, but just can’t understand why then Watauga is near full. Hope you can shed some light on the subject…. Thanks ….Steve Scheu Steve: The reason Boone is behind on our fill curve is attributable to severe drought conditions. In fact the rainfall we’ve seen at Boone is lower this year than in 2008, which was one of the driest years on record. The majority of reservoirs in our system are also not filling or behind on the fill curve. We’re conserving as much water as possible but right now the downstream flow demands are still being released to ensure water quality and water supply below the dam. We’re going to need some above normal rainfall in May to reach our full target of 1,382. We’ll be monitoring conditions and when we see rainfall we’ll be doing everything we can to get the reservoir full. Unlike other TVA reservoirs, which some are already drawing Down due to drought, once Boone is full we will hold that target all summer. We understand the impact of not having Boone full and are looking forward to potentially getting enough large/heavy rain events in May to help bring the level up. James Everett ————————————————– James: Thanks for getting back to me. No surprise in the info you provided as we figured the lack of rain was the primary issue. The only question that remains is why is Watauga at full pool?? And has remained steady. This is quite baffling to us and has generated all kinds of rumors, mostly associated with dams. Seems like Watauga could share some water as a 6 inch drop in Watauga water levels should result in a more than 6 inch rise in Boone Lake levels….if all things stay constant. And Boone could really use the water, so folks can at least consider using their boat lifts, as defined by the Operating Guide. Watauga is not under the same kind of “water level pressure” …residential population, usage, operating guide, etc ….that Boone is, at least from what we understand. Can you shed some light on the Watauga Lake levels?? Appreciate the insight…Steve ————————————————- Steve – you’re right, Watauga is near its summer flood Guide. Boone and Watauga are operated as different types of reservoirs even though their volumes of storage are similar. Reservoirs are allowed to fill based on the amount of rainfall each individual reservoir receives. During the fill period we do not take water from one reservoir (upstream) in order to fill others (downstream). If this were the case we’d be using water from places like Boone, Watauga and South Holston to fill places like Cherokee, Fort Loudoun, Watts Bar and Chickamauga – all of which are also behind on their fill schedule due to drought and all situated downstream of Boone. All reservoirs need to see enough rainfall and runoff in their particular watersheds to support fill timing. Watauga is operated to maintain the level close to its flood guide per our operating policy. If we receive significant rainfall/runoff into Watauga and the level increases above flood guide we will release that water and likely store it in Boone. Increased flow from Watauga will also likely occur the last week of May and depending on other conditions across the Valley this COULD be water that is stored in Boone if it’s not reached its fill target by then. During droughts there still remains a significant demand for water for purposes like water supply in communities (for example Kingsport) as well as flows into the mainstem Tennessee River to support other water quality needs and to support depths for commercial navigation. Again, in your area that water is coming from Watauga and South Holston primarily during the summer while the lake levels at Boone remain stable. This is why it’s important to conserve water in those tributaries like Watauga and South Holston now because we will see significant increases in their releases by June 1. James ————————————————— So there you have it, right from the horse’s mouth, or bass’s. Hope it helps you all understand why Boone remains below scheduled water levels. In the meantime, we all need to do some rain dances! |
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