Parksville
(Ocoee No. 1) Reservoir
Ecological
health rating
Parksville Reservoir rated fair in 2007—the same as in all previous years, except for 1999 and 2006 when it rated poor and good, respectively. Ratings for bottom life have improved in recent years, contributing to higher overall reservoir scores in 2006 and 2007. The lower reservoir score in 1999 was due to concurrent low scores for bottom life and fish.
TVA monitors one location on Parksville Reservoir (the deep, still water near the dam), usually on a two-year cycle.
Parksville
Reservoir Ecological Health Ratings, 1994-2007
Click chart for raw
data.
The table below
shows the ratings for individual ecological health indicators at Parksville
in 2007. These ratings are briefly explained in the paragraphs that follow.
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Ecological
Health Indicators at
Parksville Reservoir, 2007
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|
Monitoring
location
|
Dissolved
oxygen
|
Chlorophyll
|
Fish
|
Bottom
life
|
Sediment
|
| Forebay |
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|
|
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Dissolved oxygen
Dissolved oxygen rated good, the same as in all previous years except for 2005 and 2006 when it rated fair due to a small area of low dissolved oxygen near the reservoir bottom in late autumn.
Chlorophyll
Chlorophyll concentrations were low, as expected given the nutrient-poor soils in the surrounding watershed. The result was a good rating for this indicator.
Fish
The fish community rated fair, similar to most previous years. Fish density and diversity have been relatively low in Parksville Reservoir. The fish assemblage rated poor (just below the breakpoint for fair) in 1999, primarily due to the collection of only a few fish.
Bottom life
Bottom life rated good, compared to rating at the high end of the fair range in 2005 and 2006. Prior to 2005, bottom life had rated either poor or at the low end of the fair range. Bottom life exhibited a noticeable change between the 1994-2003 and 2005-2007 time periods. Although the variety remained low, there was a substantial increase in the number of organisms collected in the 2005-2007 time period.
Sediment
Sediment quality remains the most important ecological health issue for Parksville Reservoir. Past mining practices in the Copper Basin left a legacy of very high concentrations of several metals: arsenic, copper, iron, lead, and zinc. In addition, historically, elevated amounts of PCBs have been found in the sediment. PCBs, arsenic, and lead concentrations appear to be decreasing through time, although concentrations remain above normal levels.
See definitions of
ecological health indicators and monitoring locations. |
|
Fish
consumption advisories
There are no fish
consumption advisories for Parksville Reservoir. TVA collected channel catfish and largemouth bass from Parksville 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 the reservoir again in autumn 2007.
Tennessee Valley Authority
