Tennessee Valley Authority
Melton Hill Reservoir
Contents of this page
Ecological health rating
Melton Hill Reservoir rated good in 2006 monitoring by TVA.
Swimming advisories
The state of Tennessee has not issued any advisories against swimming in Melton Hill Reservoir.
Fish consumption advisories
The state of Tennessee advises against eating catfish from Melton Hill Reservoir because of PCB contamination.
Related Links
More about Melton Hill Reservoir
Sport fishing ratingsGet the facts on the availability of important sport species.
Spring sportfish survey resultsView the results from TVA’s latest black bass population survey.
General information
Monitoring river conditionsFind out how TVA evaluates the river system’s ecological health and suitability for human use.
Ecological health rating
TVA monitored Melton Hill Reservoir annually from 1991 to 1994 to establish baseline data on the reservoir’s ecological health under a range of weather and flow conditions. Melton Hill is now evaluated every other year.
The overall ecological condition of Melton Hill rated good in 2006, with the highest score to date. Melton Hill rated fair in all previous years monitored. The higher score in 2006 was due to the fact that several indicators rated at the upper end of their historic range and to an improvement in bottom life at the mid-reservoir location. Since monitoring began in 1991, the most notable observations have been the higher chlorophyll concentrations, improved sediment ratings, and the presence of a greater area of water with low dissolved oxygen during 2000 and 2001. These observations are discussed below.
Melton Hill Reservoir Ecological Health Ratings, 1994-2006
Click chart for raw data.
The table below shows the ratings for individual ecological health indicators at Melton Hill in 2006. These ratings are briefly explained in the paragraphs that follow.
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Dissolved oxygen
Dissolved oxygen rated good at both monitoring locations in 2006. Dissolved oxygen levels typically rate good in Melton Hill Reservoir. However, in 2000 and 2001 (an off year when not all ecological indicators were monitored), a greater area of water with low dissolved oxygen was present at the forebay due to the low reservoir flows, resulting in fair ratings. Drought conditions that began in summer 1998 and continued into 2002 produced near-record low flows in the Tennessee Valley. Low flows allowed the water to sit long enough that oxygen in the lower water column became depleted as it was used in the natural process of decomposition. Flows were below average for Melton Hill in 2002, but were apparently sufficient to prevent oxygen depletion in the lower water column.
Chlorophyll
Chlorophyll rated fair at the forebay and good at the mid-reservoir location. Chlorophyll has shown an overall trend of increasing concentrations at both sites since monitoring began in 1991. Chlorophyll rated good at both locations during the 1991 to 1996 time period. Since 1998, chlorophyll ratings have fluctuated between fair and poor at the forebay and good, fair, and poor at the mid-reservoir location. Reservoir flows have played a part in the year-to-year fluctuations as low-flow conditions tend to allow more time for algal populations to become established, but there remains an overall trend of increasing concentrations.
Fish
The fish community rated fair at all three monitoring locations in 2006. Historically, the fish community has rated good or fair at the forebay, fair all years at the mid-reservoir location, and fair or poor at the inflow monitoring location.
Bottom life
Bottom life rated a “low fair “at the forebay and poor at the inflow monitoring location, similar to previous years. Most of the organisms found in samples collected from the reservoir bottom were species able to tolerate poor conditions. Bottom life at the mid-reservoir received its highest score to date, rating good, compared to fair in most previous years. The improved score was the result of a greater diversity of organisms being collected from the reservoir bottom, which included a better representation of less-tolerant species such as mayflies.
Sediment
Sediment quality rated good at both monitoring locations because no PCBs or pesticides were detected, and no metals had elevated concentrations. Low levels of chlordane, a pesticide previously used to control termites and crop pests, were frequently detected in sediment samples from both sites in past years. Arsenic, PCBs, and copper also have exceeded suggested limits in past years.
Swimming advisories
TVA has not issued any swimming advisories for Melton Hill Reservoir.
E. coli bacteria levels in samples collected in 2007 were within the state of Tennessee’s guidelines for water contact with the following exception.
- Oak Ridge Municipal Park Boat Ramp: Exceeded the geometric mean (geometric mean of all 10 samples)
The locations sampled in 2007 were:
Site Name |
Location |
County |
State |
|---|---|---|---|
Melton Hill Dam Reservation Beach |
Clinch River Mile 23.5 |
Loudon |
TN |
Melton Hill Park Swim Site |
Clinch River Mile 37.0L |
Knox |
TN |
Clark Center (Carbide) Park Beach |
Clinch River Mile 37.4R, McCoy Branch Mile 0.2 |
Anderson |
TN |
Oak Ridge Municipal Park Boat Ramp |
Clinch River Mile 50.3 |
Anderson |
TN |
Hickory Creek Park Swim Site |
Clinch River Mile 28.0 |
Knox |
TN |
Fish consumption advisories
The state of Tennessee has issued a fish consumption advisory against eating catfish from Melton Hill Reservoir because of PCB contamination. TVA collected channel catfish and largemouth bass from the reservoir for tissue analysis in the autumn of 2006. The results, which were similar to those of previous years, will be provided to state agencies in Tennessee. TVA plans to analyze fish from the reservoir again in autumn 2008.
