Tennessee Valley Authority
Beech Reservoir
Contents of this page
Ecological health rating
Beech Reservoir rated poor in 2006 monitoring by TVA.
Swimming advisories
The state of Tennessee has not issued any advisories against swimming in Beech Reservoir or along the Beech River.
Fish consumption advisories
The state of Tennessee has not issued any advisories against consuming fish from Beech Reservoir.
Related Links
General information
Monitoring
river conditions
Find
out how TVA evaluates the river system’s ecological health
and suitability for human use.
Ecological health rating
TVA monitored Beech Reservoir annually from 1993 through 1996 to establish baseline data on ecological health under a range of weather and flow conditions. Beech is now monitored every other year.
The overall ecological health score for Beech Reservoir has been poor each year sampled since 1994. The score of 42 in 2000 was the lowest recorded for Beech Reservoir. This was the result of three indicators concurrently scoring at the low end of their historical range rather than a substantial change in any indicator. Consistent problems are high chlorophyll concentrations and low dissolved oxygen levels near bottom.
Beech Reservoir Ecological Health Ratings, 1994-2006
Click chart for raw
data.
The table below shows the ratings for individual ecological health indicators at Beech in 2006. These ratings are briefly explained in the paragraphs that follow.
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Dissolved oxygen
As in previous years, dissolved oxygen rated poor. Dissolved oxygen levels were low near the reservoir bottom from mid-May through September, with extended periods of time when the bottom water was completely devoid of oxygen.
Chlorophyll
Chlorophyll levels were high throughout the study period, causing this indicator to rate poor. High chlorophyll levels are a consistent problem in Beech Reservoir.
Fish
The fish community rated fair. As in previous years, lack of species diversity — particularly the absence or low numbers of intolerant species — lowered the overall fish community score. The predominant species were bluegill, longear sunfish, gizzard shad, and largemouth bass.
Bottom life
Bottom life rated good in 2006. Bottom life in Beech usually rates good compared to other reservoirs in the Tennessee Valley’s Interior Plateau ecoregion.
Sediment
Sediment quality rated fair because samples contained slightly more arsenic than would be expected to occur naturally, the same as in 2000 and 2004. Sediment quality rated good in 1996 and 2002, when no problems were detected, and fair in 1998 because of low levels of chlordane, a pesticide previously used to control termites and crop pests.
Swimming advisories
TVA has not issued any swimming advisories for Beech Reservoir.
E. coli bacteria levels in samples collected in 2007 were within the state of Tennessee’s guidelines for water contact.
The locations sampled in 2007 were:
| Site Name | Location | County / State |
| Beech Lake Dam Beach | Beech River Mile 35.5 | Henderson/TN |
| Beech Lake Camping Resort Beach | Beech River Mile ~38.4 at Graves Branch | Henderson/TN |
| Pine Lake Beach | Piney Creek Mile 5.2 | Henderson/TN |
| Pin Oak Lake Boat Ramp at Forebay | Browns Creek Mile 5.2L | Henderson/TN |
| Sycamore Lake Boat Ramp | Dry Branch off Piney Creek | Henderson/TN |
Fish consumption advisories
Currently, there are no fish consumption advisories for Beech Reservoir. TVA collected channel catfish and largemouth bass from the reservoir for tissue analysis in the autumn of 2006. With the exception of mercury concentrations in largemouth bass, contaminant concentrations were either below detectable levels or below the levels used by the state of Tennessee to issue fish consumption advisories. TVA will collect fish from Beech again in the autumn of 2010.
