Tennessee Valley Authority
Fort Loudoun Reservoir
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Ecological health rating
Fort Loudoun Reservoir rated fair in 2006 monitoring by TVA.
Swimming advisories
The state of Tennessee has not issued any advisories against swimming in Fort Loudoun Reservoir. It has issued a bacteriological advisory for Sinking Creek Embayment of the reservoir.
Fish consumption advisories
The state of Tennessee advises against eating catfish or largemouth bass over two pounds from Fort Loudoun Reservoir because of PCB contamination. The state also advises against eating any largemouth bass caught in the Little River embayment.
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out how TVA evaluates the river system’s ecological health
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Ecological health rating
TVA monitors Fort Loudoun Reservoir annually because it is the first reservoir on the main channel of the Tennessee River and because a number of water-quality issues have been identified in past years. (Most TVA reservoirs are monitored every other year once baseline data have been established.)
Fort Loudoun Reservoir rated fair in 2006 monitoring. Conditions were similar to most previous years. Low ratings for three indicators — chlorophyll, bottom life, and sediment quality — consistently reduce the reservoir’s overall health score.
Fort Loudoun Reservoir Ecological Health Ratings, 1994-2006
Click chart for raw data.
The table below shows the ratings for individual ecological health indicators at Fort Loudoun in 2006. These ratings are briefly explained in the paragraphs that follow.
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Dissolved oxygen
Dissolved oxygen (DO) levels rated good at both monitoring locations in 2006. This indicator usually rates good except during years with exceptionally low flows, as in 1999, 2001, and 2002, when DO rated poor at the forebay. TVA has installed aeration equipment to add oxygen to the deep water above Fort Loudoun Dam and to improve conditions immediately downstream. Learn more about these improvements.
Chlorophyll
In 2006, chlorophyll concentrations were quite high at both monitoring locations, resulting in poor ratings. High chlorophyll concentrations are a consistent issue on Fort Loudoun, rating poor at both sites all years since 1995 except 2003, when chlorophyll rated good at the mid-reservoir. The higher flows in 2003 resulted in the lowest summer chlorophyll average to date at the mid-reservoir site.
Fish
The fish assemblage rated good at the forebay and mid-reservoir monitoring locations and “high fair” at the inflow monitoring location. The variety of fish collected at all three sites was good, but catch rates were slightly lower than desired.
Bottom life
Similar to previous years, bottom life rated poor at the forebay and inflow monitoring locations and fair at the mid-reservoir. Each year relatively few organisms, mainly those capable of tolerating poor conditions, are collected from the forebay and inflow locations. Bottom life at the mid-reservoir typically rates fair due to greater diversity, which includes a better representation of intolerant species such as mayflies (Hexagenia).
Sediment
Sediment quality rated fair at both the forebay and mid-reservoir monitoring locations. Low levels of PCBs were detected in the sediment samples from both locations. Chlordane, PCBs, and zinc have exceeded suggested limits in some previous years.
Swimming advisories
TVA has not issued any swimming advisories for Fort Loudoun Reservoir. The state of Tennessee has issued a bacteriological advisory for Sinking Creek Embayment of Fort Loudoun Reservoir.
- E. coli bacteria levels in samples collected in 2007 were within the state of Tennessee’s guidelines for water contact with the following exceptions.
- Yarberry Peninsula Beach: Exceeded the single sample maximum 1 of 10 sampling events
- Willow Point Marina Boat Ramp: Exceeded the single sample maximum 2 of 10 sampling events
- Singleton Boat Ramp: Exceeded the single sample maximum 1 of 10 sampling events
- TWRA Perry’s Mill Canoe Access Site: Exceeded the geometric mean (geometric mean of all 10 samples) and the single sample maximum 3 of 10 sampling events
The locations sampled in 2007 were:
Site Name |
Location |
County |
State |
|---|---|---|---|
Singleton Boat Ramp |
Little River Mile 2.0L, Polecat Branch |
Blount |
TN |
Gallager Creek Boat Ramp |
Tennessee River Mile 612L |
Blount |
TN |
Lenoir City Park Beach |
Tennessee River Mile 602.7R |
Loudon |
TN |
Yarberry Peninsula Beach |
Tennessee River Mile 604.5L, Unnamed Tributary Mile 0.6 |
Loudon |
TN |
Little Turkey Creek Fishing Pier Boat Ramp |
Tennessee River Mile 616.5R, Little Turkey Creek Mile 1.5R |
Knox |
TN |
Willow Point Marina Boat Ramp |
Little River Mile 3.2, Stock Creek Mile 0.4 |
Blount |
TN |
Fox Marina Boat Ramp |
Tennessee River Mile 617.1R |
Knox |
TN |
Poland Creek Recreation Area Swim Site |
Tennessee River Mile 620.0L |
Blount |
TN |
Carl Cowan Park Fishing Pier Boat Ramp |
Tennessee River Mile 621.6R |
Knox |
TN |
Admiral Farragut Park Beach |
Tennessee River Mile 622.2R |
Knox |
TN |
Louisville Park Beach |
Tennessee River Mile 625.4L, Lackey Creek M 0.3 |
Blount |
TN |
Concord Park Beach, The Cove |
Tennessee River Mile 616.5 |
Knox |
TN |
Maloney Road Park Swim Site |
Tennessee River Mile 638.9 |
Knox |
TN |
TWRA Perry's Mill Canoe Access Site |
Little River Mile 22 |
Blount |
TN |
Yarberry Peninsula Beach Boat Ramp |
Tennessee River Mile 604.5L, Unnamed Tributary Mile 0.6 |
Loudon |
TN |
Concord Marina Boat Ramp |
Tennessee River Mile 617.1R, Sinking Creek Mile 1.0L |
Knox |
TN |
Concord Park Boat Ramp |
Tennessee River Mile 617.5R |
Knox |
TN |
Louisville Park Boat Ramp |
Tennessee River Mile 625.4L |
Blount |
TN |
Fort Loudoun Dam Reservation Day Use Area Beach |
Tennessee River Mile 602.4R |
Loudon |
TN |
The state of Tennessee has issued a bacteriological advisory for the Sinking Creek Embayment (1.5 miles from the head of embayment to cave) of Fort Loudoun Reservoir. There are also advisories on tributary streams (First Creek, Goose Creek, Second Creek, and Third Creek) that flow into the reservoir. For more information, go to Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Fishing and Bacteriological Advisories.
Fish consumption advisories
The state of Tennessee advises against eating catfish or largemouth bass over two pounds from Fort Loudoun Reservoir because of PCB contamination. The state has also issued a fish consumption advisory against eating any largemouth bass caught in the Little River embayment.
TVA collected channel catfish and largemouth bass from the reservoir for tissue analysis in the autumn of 2006. The results, which will be provided to state agencies in Tennessee, were similar to those of previous years. TVA plans to collect and analyze channel catfish from the mid-reservoir site in autumn 2007 for selected pesticides and PCBs.
