Fort Patrick Henry Reservoir

Ecological health rating
Swimming advisories
Fish consumption advisories

Ecological health rating

Fort Patrick Henry Reservoir rated fair in 2007. Fort Patrick Henry has received a fair or poor rating every year, except for 2003 when it rated good due primarily to improved chlorophyll levels (see discussion below).

TVA monitors one location on Fort Patrick Henry Reservoir—the deep, still water near the dam, called the forebay—usually on a two-year cycle.

Fort Patrick Henry Reservoir Ecological Health Ratings, 1994-2007

Click chart for raw data.

The table below shows the ratings for individual ecological health indicators at Fort Patrick Henry in 2007. These ratings are briefly explained in the paragraphs that follow.

Monitoring location	Dissolved oxygen	Chlorophyll	Fish	Bottom life	Sediment
Ecological Health Indicators at Fort Patrick Henry Reservoir, 2007
Forebay	Good	Poor	Fair	Poor	Good
Dissolved oxygen Dissolved oxygen rated good. The reservoir’s small size and short residence time (the length of time the water sits in the reservoir) prevent it from becoming thermally stratified during the summer. Chlorophyll As in previous years, chlorophyll concentrations were elevated throughout the summer and autumn and rated poor. The exception was in 2003 when a shorter average residence time limited algae growth, resulting in the only good rating for this indicator. Fish The fish community rated fair. This indicator typically rates poor or fair. Monitoring consistently reveals a higher-than-expected proportion of species able to tolerate pollution or habitat degradation, such as gizzard shad. Bottom life Bottom life rated poor because of the low variety of animals found in samples collected from the reservoir bottom. Sediment Sediment quality rated good. No pesticides or PCBs were detected, and concentrations of metals were within the expected background levels. Sediment quality typically rates fair due to low levels of chlordane, a pesticide previously used to control termites and crop pests. See definitions of ecological health indicators and monitoring locations.

Swimming advisories

TVA has not issued any swimming advisories for Fort Patrick Henry 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.

Warrior Path State Park Beach: Exceeded the single sample maximum 1 of 10 sampling events
Warrior Path State Park Swimming Site: Exceeded the single sample maximum 1 of 10 sampling events

The following sites were sampled in 2007:

Site Name	Location	County	State
Ford Town Bridge Boat Ramp	South Holston River Mile 16.6	Sullivan	TN
Warrior Paths Marina Boat Ramp	South Holston River Mile 11.8	Sullivan	TN
Warrior Path State Park Beach	South Holston River Mile 11.8	Sullivan	TN
Warrior Path State Park Swim Site	South Holston River Mile 11.8	Sullivan	TN

Fish consumption advisories

There are no fish consumption advisories for Fort Patrick Henry Reservoir. TVA collected channel catfish and largemouth bass from the reservoir for tissue analysis in fall 2005. The results, which were similar to those of previous years, will be provided to state agencies in Tennessee. TVA will analyze fish from Fort Patrick Henry again in the autumn of 2009.

Fort Patrick Henry Reservoir is located in Sullivan County in the northeastern corner of Tennessee.

More about Fort Patrick Henry

Sport fishing ratings

General information

To see monitoring results for other TVA reservoirs, choose from the list below.

Environmental Stewardship

Fort Patrick Henry Reservoir

Ecological health rating

Fort Patrick Henry Reservoir Ecological Health Ratings, 1994-2007

Ecological Health Indicators at Fort Patrick Henry Reservoir, 2007

Monitoring location

Dissolved oxygen

Chlorophyll

Fish

Bottom life

Sediment