2020 saw the launch of FLG's relationship with Equinox Environmental for our ongoing water quality program. This first report represents findings of testing conducted in the 4th quarter of 2020.

Water quality sampling occurred at six sites within the Lake Glenville watershed on 11/19/20. All sites were located as close as possible to sites sampled in previous monitoring years. This was a dry weather sampling with antecedent conditions of at least three days prior being dry, as well. The suite of parameters sampled included water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, alkalinity, specific conductivity, turbidity, ammonia, nitrate, phosphate, and fecal coliform. Overall, the water quality at the six tributaries to Lake Glenville as observed on 11/19/2020 was excellent.

Clarity of the water in Lake Glenville is its prime hedonic value. Its converse, turbidity, is typically associated with various measures of water pollution. Water clarity can be diminished by sediment-laden streams entering the lake, by shoreline erosion and resuspension of unconsolidated bottom sediments in shallow areas by motorboat wakes, by faulty waste disposal practice, and by growth of microorganisms in the lake. Growth of algae and other organisms is promoted by nutrient elements, primarily phosphorus, released into the lake or its watershed. For these reasons turbidity has long been a major focus of the FLG water quality monitoring program. There have been occasional laments that things are not what they used to be; spoken or written allusions to a lost pristine condition (whatever “pristine” means with reference to a reservoir) when Secchi depths were 24 feet. That depth is 2 to four times as great as those measured in recent years.

The Annual Report covering 2019 for stream testing of tributaries feeding into Lake Glenville has been released. Within this report there is more robust analysis with charting and comparisons back to 2007. There is also a comparison of the past 3 years' results that have occurred under this agreement with WCU. Click through to read the full report and learn some of the key takeaways, which include:

Please Note: As of Tuesday, May 26, 2020, the Cedar Cliff hydro station remains in an outage and is expected to return to service on or around May 28. The scheduled East Fork flow releases for May 23 – 25 will be made by a combination of releasing from the West Fork hydro station and the Cedar Cliff spillway gate.  River flows could be higher than normal due to the recent rainfall.

The flow releases for the East Fork will be populated on the web site/mobile app so there is no confusion for the recreation community. You can view these flow releases at http://www.duke-energy.com/lakes or by downloading the Duke Energy Lake View mobile app from the Apple App Store or the Android Google Play Store.

Thank you.

Lynne Dunn
Hydro Compliance Manager
980-701-7043