Family - Alabama Power

Water Quality
No matter what draws residents to the water –
beauty, nature, tranquility or fun – water quality
is crucial to their enjoyment. And just as diverse as
these enticements of lake residency, the influencers
of water quality are similarly varied and interlaced.
Flood control and vegetation management help
limit debris that causes navigation dangers on the
water’s surface and displaces storage capacity by
settling to the bottom. Shoreline protection – by
maintaining its natural aspect – limits erosion and
harmful runoff. And properly managed aquatic
species and habitat help maintain the organisms
that naturally benefit water quality.
Because lakes are large bodies of slow-moving
water, small changes in conditions can have
broad-ranging impact. Alabama Power relies on
relationships with water protection groups to help
monitor and maintain the quality of the water that
provides habitat for plants and animals and draws
people to the state’s alluring lakes.
— Brandon Glover, Alabama power
Billy Brown
Above: Vegetation management is important to the Tallapoosa
river system. Right: Hydrilla can disrupt natural habitats when
not managed.
Billy Brown
April Showers
Determine the fate of summer lake levels
This year’s extreme weather conditions
continue to negatively impact Alabama
Power lakes. The rains normally seen in
March and April never arrived, leaving
many of the reservoirs unable to fill.
State climatologist John Christy points to one
possible cause of lagging rainfall. “La Niña winters,
which have hit the Southeast region back to back,
produce weather that is generally warmer and drier.
This becomes especially problematic when it comes
to conserving water resources.”
With below-normal rainfall, all of Alabama
Power’s lakes on the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers
have experienced lower than normal pool levels.
But the company has been proactive in the face of
these dry conditions.
Alabama Power began the spring by conserving
water in its reservoirs by significantly reducing
hydro generation to only those releases required by
our federal licenses. The company requested – and
received in mid-May – Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (FERC) approval for a reduction in
minimum-flow requirements from Jordan Dam –
allowing a 20 percent reduction in the navigation
releases to the Alabama River.
“These drought conditions have hit us hard this
year, and at the worst time, when we normally fill
Use your smart device to find:
Weekly Drought updates
for the state of Alabama
www.droughtmonitor.unl.edu/DM_
the reservoirs to summer levels,” said Reservoir
Management Supervisor Alan Peeples. “Our priority is
to ensure, by working with federal and state agencies,
we conserve water now for the coming months that will
help preserve and protect, to the extent possible, the
many and various needs placed on the reservoirs.”
In anticipation of La Niña conditions, the company
already received variances from the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers to fill Lake Harris, Weiss and Logan
Martin earlier than normal this spring. FERC similarly
approved a variance last fall to temporarily raise the
Lake Martin winter pool level by 3 feet to boost the
spring fill efforts.
“We understand this is unpleasant news to the
folks making plans to head out on our lakes with
family and friends, but we do want them to be aware
of what we all are dealing with,” said Peeples.
The U.S. Drought Monitor updates state conditions
weekly at www.droughtmonitor.unl.edu.
For the latest on lake levels and Alabama Power’s
efforts to manage these dry conditions, visit
alabamapower.com and click the “Lake Conditions”
link on the left side of the page. Information can also
be obtained by calling Alabama Power’s automated
Reservoir Information System at 1-800-LAKES11
(1-800-525-3711).
— keisa sharpe, alabama power
Top: Lake Martin during winter pool. Bottom: Lake Martin flood
gates open during flood conditions.
10 state.htmAL,SE
11
William Dickey Marvin Gilmore