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By John Pool
Blue Ridge Mountain TU Chapter members who attended the June meeting had a
chance to hear lots of detailed information about the Toccoa tailwater from
Wayne Poppe, Senior Manager, River System Operations and Environment, TVA .
Illustrating his remarks with graphs and charts, Poppe said in
terms of the quality of cold-water habitat, the Toccoa rates high among the
tailwaters flowing from TVA reservoirs. He showed where sampling continues
to reveal good numbers of invertebrates in the river with a marked increase
after the "little" generator went online allowing TVA to maintain minimum
flows above 100 c.f.s. Across the Tennessee Valley system, tailwaters'
invertebrate populations range from some that only have bloodworms to others
that have a healthy mix of mayflies, stoneflies and caddis, Poppe said. The
Toccoa falls in that latter category with above average aquatic insect
populations.
During the two-hour program, Poppe explained in layman's terms
information about the Blue Ridge dam oxygenating system, water
release/generating mechanics, dam maintenance and construction projects,
maintaining water quality during deep draw-downs, and a lot more.
The TVA doesn't manage the Toccoa's trout (the DNR does that),
but Poppe presented graphs showing the historical data on the Toccoa's
temperature, dissolved oxygen and other data, all in the excellent range for
supporting trout.
That’s the good news.
The bad news is, although the TVA manages the Toccoa to maintain
high quality coldwater habitat, there is no attempt to manage water releases
so they will be "friendly" to anglers. Many late spring and summer weekend
days have before-daybreak 'til after-dark generation schedules much to the
dismay of fishermen missing out on the Toccoa's sulphur and light cahill
hatches.
Poppe said electrical demand at any given time, balancing supply
across the grid, and maintaining lake levels in relation to rainfall among
all dams operated by TVA are among the factors that go into determining
generation schedules. Obviously, if there's been heavy rainfall like in
North Georgia recently, there will be more water released from the
reservoir.
But for the Blue Ridge dam, there's another variable: whitewater
releases for the Ocoee. This doesn't mean TVA is especially fond of rafters
-- it’s all about money.
Through a contract with the state of Tennessee, TVA has agreed
to provide a certain number of whitewater release days on the Ocoee for
which they are reimbursed for any lost peak-hour electrical generating this
causes.
Operating on the Ocoee are 24 outfitting companies licensed for
commercial rafting. They collect a fee of $3.50 per paying customer who goes
down the river, with this money going into a trust fund and on to TVA.
TVA generates at Blue Ridge Dam so that water will be available
downstream when needed to provide the agreed-upon Ocoee whitewater releases.
Poppe didn't have this data at the TU Chapter meeting in June,
but some internet research shows that on an average Saturday in June 9,000
people raft or paddle down the Ocoee. The last few years, the average number
of river users has surpassed 300,000 annually. The Copper Basin Economic
Development Council says whitewater recreation brings in $20-million to the
river's surrounding seven counties. For a nine-hour summer Saturday,
whitewater recreation on the upper Ocoee generates $210,000 to the
commercial outfitters as opposed to a cost to the TVA of $6,650 for the same
9 hours of lost generation.
Whitewater paddlers and commercial outfitters along with local
governments and chambers of commerce are all lobbying TVA for what they call
"recreational releases." But their recreational releases are not the same as
anglers' recreational releases. For them the releases mean "Whitewater!"
while for anglers it means "No Fishing!"
Can the Blue Ridge TU Chapter influence any changes with the TVA
for more angler friendly releases?
The odds may appear slim, but at the meeting, chapter member Jay
Campbell said the TVA has recently been generating from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00
p.m. (if not longer) at the Blue Ridge dam. He asked Poppe why they couldn't
generate more at night, giving anglers some additional daylight time on the
river? Poppe didn't promise anything but made note of the suggestion and
said he would carry it to his superiors for their consideration.
Jay is looking for contact information for Poppe's TVA
supervisors and wants to discuss the generating schedules with them. They
may or may not be receptive to altering release schedules but at least maybe
they will explain why they can’t or won’t. Anyone who can provide Jay with
contact information and/or is interested in joining the effort to let TVA
know that some fishermen aren't happy with their generating schedules, is
asked to respond to this email or contact Jay directly. |