Tennessee Valley Authority
Chatuge Reservoir
Contents of this page
Ecological health rating
Chatuge Reservoir rated poor in 2006 monitoring by TVA.
Swimming advisories
The states of North Carolina and Georgia have not issued any advisories against swimming in Chatuge Reservoir.
Fish consumption advisories
The state of Georgia has issued a fish consumption advisory for Chatuge Reservoir due to mercury contamination.
Related Links
More about Chatuge Reservoir
Sport fishing ratings
Get the facts on the availability of important sport species.
Spring
sportfish survey results
View the results from TVA's latest black bass population survey.
General information
Monitoring river conditions
Find out how TVA evaluates the river system’s ecological health and suitability for human use.
Ecological health rating
TVA began monitoring five ecological indicators (dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, fish, bottom life, and sediment quality) on Chatuge Reservoir in 1993. After 1994, TVA went to a two-year monitoring cycle, but resumed annual monitoring in 1999 after observing a substantial drop in the reservoir’s ecological health score in 1998. For the past nine years, Chatuge has rated poor every year with the exception of 2001, when it rated fair due to improved DO conditions and lower average chlorophyll concentrations. Since 1998, the ratings for four indicators – dissolved oxygen, sediment quality, bottom life, and chlorophyll – have fluctuated, but a shift in overall reservoir scores has resulted from more frequent and concurrent low ratings for these indicators
Weather conditions (the timing and amount of rainfall) and the related changes in runoff have proved to be a major factor in the variation in ecological health scores for Chatuge and many other reservoirs. Dissolved oxygen and chlorophyll — the indicators most responsive to changes in weather conditions — tend to rate better in tributary reservoirs during drought conditions (e.g., 2001) and lower during periods of more normal to high rainfall and runoff. This is because fewer nutrients and less organic material are washed into the reservoir when rainfall and runoff are low, which tends to result in lower chlorophyll concentrations and less oxygen demand to decompose organic materials.
Chatuge Reservoir Ecological Health Ratings, 1994-2006
Click chart for raw data.
The table below shows the ratings for individual ecological health indicators at Chatuge in 2006. These ratings are briefly explained in the paragraphs that follow.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dissolved oxygen
Dissolved oxygen rated poor at both monitoring locations due to low concentrations in the lower water column during late summer and autumn (August through October). Ratings have fluctuated between fair and poor in response to the timing and amount of rainfall. Dissolved oxygen rated fair at both locations in 2001and 2004 and poor in 2002 and 2003.
Chlorophyll
Similar to recent years, chlorophyll levels were higher than expected given the nutrient-poor soils in the watershed, rating poor at the forebay and fair at the Shooting Creek location. Chlorophyll rated good or fair in all years until 2003, when it rated poor at the Shooting Creek location. Chlorophyll has continued to rate fair or poor since 2003. As with dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll ratings have fluctuated in response to the timing and amount of rainfall. However, average chlorophyll concentrations have shown a trend of increasing at both locations since TVA began monitoring Chatuge Reservoir in the early 1990s.
Fish
The fish community rated fair at both monitoring locations-the same as in most previous years. Catch rates were lower than expected, and species diversity was fair.
Bottom life
Bottom life rated “low fair” at the forebay and poor at the Shooting Creek location. Bottom life has rated fair or poor each year because relatively few organisms are found in samples collected from the reservoir bottom and most are species able to tolerate poor conditions.
Sediment
Sediment quality rated fair at the forebay due to elevated concentrations of copper and poor at the Shooting Creek location due to elevated concentrations of chromium, copper, and nickel. Elevated concentrations of one or more of these metals are usually detected in the sediments of Chatuge.
Swimming advisories
TVA has not issued any swimming advisories for Chatuge Reservoir.
E. coli bacteria levels in samples collected in 2007 were within Environmental Protection Agency’s suggested guidelines for water contact.
The locations sampled in 2007 were:
Site Name |
Location |
County |
State |
|---|---|---|---|
Informal Swim Site off Ledford Chapel Rd |
Hiwassee River Mile 121, Pitts Cove off Shooting Creek Mile 1.8R |
Clay |
NC |
Chatuge Dam Reservation: Circle Boat Ramp |
Hiwassee River Mile 121.0R, Shooting Creek Mile 0.8 |
Clay |
NC |
Hwy. 64, Gravel Pile, Clay County, Informal Swim Site |
Shooting Creek Mile 2.8 at Chambers Cove |
Clay |
NC |
Clay County Park Beach |
Hiwassee River Mile 121.8L |
Clay |
NC |
Bell Creek Informal Swim Site |
Hiwassee River Mile 126R at Bell Creek |
Towns |
GA |
Towns County Park & Georgia Mountain Fair Recreation Area Beach |
Hiwassee River Mile 126.5L |
Towns |
GA |
Clay County Park Swim Site (Gibson Cove Recreation Area) |
Hiwassee River Mile 121.5L |
Clay |
NC |
Fish consumption advisories
The state of Georgia issued a fish consumption advisory for spotted bass in the Georgia portion of Chatuge Reservoir because of mercury contamination. The state advises people not to eat more than one meal a week of spotted bass between 12 and 16 inches in length.
TVA collected channel catfish and largemouth bass from the reservoir for tissue analysis in the autumn of 2004. The results, which were provided to state agencies in Georgia and North Carolina, were similar to those of previous years. TVA will collect fish from Chatuge again in the autumn of 2008.
