Smith Mountain Lake water levels up

After enduring several years of drought, residents and business owners are seeing a noticeable rise in water levels at Smith Mountain Lake.

Tom Buck, owner of Mitchell’s Point Marina and Campground in Huddleston, is not complaining.

The influx of recent rainfall has led to more boaters getting back on the water, he said. Drops in water levels often damaged boats due to unmarked shoals popping up, which he said caused less traffic on the lake and a decline in gas sales and restaurant patrons.

“It had a lot of impact,” Buck said of the lack of rain. “We don’t know what is going to happen if the rain stops and the drought starts again. These last few years it’s been drastic.”

Mary Jo Markle, who has lived at Sunset Cove in Goodview for the past several decades with her husband, Cyrus Markle, said they weren’t able to get their boat on the water recently because of dry conditions.

“We were very concerned,” Mary Jo said. “The water was getting very low.”

Recent rains have made a “very noticeable” difference in water at the cove, she said, which started to show over the past several months.

More than 99 percent of Virginia is not considered to be under a drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Less than 1 percent, which is not in Central Virginia, is “abnormally dry.”

That’s a clear difference from this time a year ago when 44 percent of the state was abnormally dry, 24 percent was in moderate drought and 2 percent was in severe drought. The severity of drought in Central Virginia over the past several years has caused some local officials to request federal assistance in aiding area farmers and to call for some restrictions on municipal water supplies.

The total rainfall so far in 2009 for the city of Lynchburg is 20.1 inches, which is nearly an inch more than the normal yearly amount by this time, according to Weather Central in Madison, Wis.

Several lake residents have said they hope the spill continues in their areas.

“It appears with all the upstream rain we had that we should have a good summer,” said Ralph Brush, a Huddleston resident who lives on the lake. “I think we’re in very, very good shape. We’re back to normal now and we’re very pleased to get this much water.”

Appalachian Power Company has produced hydroelectricity at the lake through a dam since the 1960s.

Dry conditions over the past several years led the company to seek variances from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to release less water from the dam, which has impacted lake recreation and use. The company is allowed to regulate the lake’s level through a license administered by FERC, which it is in the process of renewing.

Russ Johnson, a Franklin County supervisor, is chairman of a committee representing localities bordering Smith Mountain Lake in the company’s effort to renew its license.

Drought is a water safety concern for residents and low water can have a negative impact on lakefront property values, he said.

“It takes a lot of public pressure away from the issue,” Johnson said of the recent rainfall.

The outflow from the dam into a lower reservoir of Leesville Lake is now at a minimum discharge requirement of 650 cubic feet per second, said John Shepelwich, manager of state corporate communications for American Electric Power.

The lake’s adjusted elevation on Friday was just more than a normal full pond level of 795 feet, according to AEP’s Web site.

In December the elevation level fell to 789.5 feet, the lowest level reached since 2002. There were only seven times in more than 40 years the lake had ever gone below that mark, according to AEP’s Web site.

Shepelwich said limiting the drop to only five feet in late 2008 was a “remarkable achievement” and he credited lake stakeholders for working together through the process.

“After a two-year drought there were many lakes in this area that were half full,” he said. “We hope rain continues so we don’t get into another drought situation.”

One drawback of long and heavy rainfall for the lake, Shepelwich said, is a rise in debris through trees, shrubs and branches that detach from nearby banks.

“In some cases, we’ve been told people cannot get boats out of docks,” he said. “Some swimming areas have been closed.”

The company has a skimmer on the lake in some areas to work to clear the debris as soon as possible, he said.

Meanwhile, he said boaters and lake users are urged to use caution and to be aware of their surroundings while on the water.