Tennessee Valley Authority
Watauga Reservoir
Contents of this page
Ecological health rating
Watauga Reservoir rated good in 2006 monitoring by TVA.
Swimming advisories
The state of Tennessee has not issued any advisories against swimming in Watauga Reservoir.
Fish consumption advisories
The state of Tennessee has not issued any advisories against consuming fish from Watauga Reservoir.
Related Links
More about Watauga Reservoir
Sport
fishing ratings
Get the facts on the availability of important sport species.
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 monitored Watauga Reservoir annually from 1991 through 1994 to establish baseline data on the reservoir’s ecological health under a range of weather and flow conditions. Watauga is now evaluated every other year.
The overall ecological health score for Watauga Reservoir in 2006 was the second highest recorded to date. This was because several indicators concurrently rated at the upper end of their historic range, bottom life at the forebay scored higher than in any previous year, and sediment scored higher than in previous years at the mid-reservoir.
Watauga Reservoir Ecological Health Ratings, 1994-2006
Click chart for raw data.
The table below shows the ratings for individual ecological health indicators at Watauga in 2006. These ratings are briefly explained in the paragraphs that follow.
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Dissolved oxygen
Dissolved oxygen rated “high fair” at the forebay and poor at the mid-reservoir, consistent with most previous years. Dissolved oxygen levels rated good at both monitoring locations in 2004, the best rating to date at the mid-reservoir. Prior to 2004, dissolved oxygen rated fair or poor at the mid-reservoir, while ratings at the forebay have been good or “high fair.”
Chlorophyll
Chlorophyll levels were within the expected range at both monitoring locations and rated good. This indicator has rated good consistently since TVA began monitoring Watauga Reservoir.
Fish
The fish community rated fair at both monitoring locations in 2006. Fish catch rate and species diversity were slightly lower than expected at both locations, with composition dominated by bluegill. Through time, the fish community has rated fair consistently at the forebay and “high fair” or good at the mid-reservoir site.
Bottom life
Bottom life rated fair at both monitoring locations. Few organisms were collected, and those present were groups tolerant of poor conditions. In previous years, bottom life has rated poor at the forebay and fair or poor at the mid-reservoir.
Sediment
Sediment quality rated good at both monitoring locations. This was the first good rating at the mid-reservoir. In past years, sediment samples collected at the mid-reservoir site contained low levels of chlordane, a pesticide previously used to control termites and crop pests.
Swimming advisories
TVA has not issued any swimming advisories for Wilbur Reservoir.
E. coli bacteria levels in samples collected in 2007 were within the state of Tennessee’s guidelines for water contact with the following exception.
- Watauga Dam TVA Campground Beach: Exceeded the single sample maximum 1 of 10 sampling events
The following site was sampled in 2007:
Site Name |
Location |
County |
State |
|---|---|---|---|
Watauga Dam TVA Campground Beach |
Watauga River Mile 36.0R |
Carter |
TN |
Fish consumption advisories
There are no fish consumption advisories on Watauga Reservoir. TVA collected channel catfish and largemouth bass from the reservoir for tissue analysis in the autumn of 2004. All contaminant levels were either below detectable levels or below the levels used by the state of Tennessee to issue fish consumption advisories. TVA will analyze fish from Watauga again in the autumn of 2008.
