Kentucky Reservoir

Ecological health rating

The ecological health of Kentucky Reservoir rated at the upper end of the fair range in 2009. Kentucky rated good all other years except 1995, when the rating was also at the upper end of the fair range.

TVA monitors four locations on Kentucky Reservoir—the deep, still water near the dam, called the forebay; the middle part of the reservoir; the Big Sandy embayment; and the riverlike area at the extreme upper end of the reservoir, called the inflow—usually on a two-year cycle.

Kentucky Reservoir Ecological Health Ratings, 1994-2009

Click chart for raw data.

The table below shows the ratings for individual ecological health indicators at Kentucky in 2009. These ratings are briefly explained in the paragraphs that follow.

Monitoring locations	Dissolved oxygen	Chlorophyll	Fish	Bottom life	Sediment
Ecological Health Indicators at Kentucky Reservoir, 2009
Forebay	Fair	Poor	Fair	Good	Good
Mid-reservoir	Good	Fair	Good	Good	Good
Big Sandy embayment	Poor	Poor	Fair	Fair	Good
Inflow			Fair	Fair
Dissolved oxygen Dissolved oxygen ratings varied by location: fair at the forebay, good at the mid-reservoir, and poor in the Big Sandy embayment. Dissolved oxygen rated fair at the forebay because levels were low (less than two milligrams per liter) along the bottom during June and July and poor at the Big Sandy embayment because levels were low June thought September. Dissolved oxygen levels at the mid-reservoir location have consistently rated good. Chlorophyll As in previous years, average summer chlorophyll concentrations were relatively high at the forebay and Big Sandy embayment monitoring locations, rating poor. Concentrations at the mid-reservoir location were slightly elevated, resulting in a fair rating. Chlorophyll has rated good at the mid-reservoir location all other years except 2001, when the indicator also received a fair rating. Fish The fish community rated good at the mid-reservoir location and “high fair” at the forebay, inflow, and Big Sandy embayment locations. Ratings for the fish community have varied between fair and good at all locations, with more frequent “high fair” or good ratings in recent years. Bottom life Monitoring results for bottom life were generally similar to previous years. The forebay and mid-reservoir locations rated good and the Big Sandy embayment and inflow rated “high fair”. Sediment Sediment quality rated good at all locations. No pesticides or PCBs were detected, and concentrations of metals were within the expected background levels. Sediment quality has rated good in Kentucky Reservoir, except in 1999 and 2001 when it rated fair at the Big Sandy embayment due to slightly elevated concentrations of arsenic. See definitions of ecological health indicators and monitoring locations.

Fish consumption advisories

Kentucky Reservoir - TVA maintains a program to examine contaminants in fish fillets from TVA reservoirs and their major tributary streams on a rotational basis. The data collected from this program is distributed to the state officials who are responsible for placing or removing fish tissue consumption advisories on those bodies of water. For information on advisories currently in effect for Kentucky Reservoir, visit the Kentucky Departments of Fish and Wildlife Resources and Environmental Protection, Health Services’ web page. http://fw.ky.gov/fishadvisory.asp?lid=900&NavPath=C101