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Appalachian Power warns Smith Mountain Lake triggers active as drought tightens water management
Summary
Appalachian Power told the Franklin County board that the project's multi‑level water management triggers have moved to levels that reduce downstream releases, that the lake sits several feet below full pond and that further drawdowns are possible; company staff said future industrial withdrawals would require multiple state and federal approvals.
Appalachian Power told Franklin County supervisors on June 16 that Smith Mountain Lake is operating under its federally approved Water Management Plan (WMP) and that drought‑driven trigger levels have already reduced mandated downstream releases.
The basics: "We hit trigger point number one on April 27th and then...trigger point number two on May 11th," an Appalachian Power representative told the board, describing a stepwise system that reduces outflows as inflow declines. The company stressed the WMP’s legal obligation to provide minimum releases to protect downstream habitat even during drought.
Local impacts and company response: Company staff acknowledged that the lake’s elevation was several feet below full pool and said the pump‑storage project can still generate electricity but with less head; that has local economic implications for tourism and lake‑dependent businesses. "It could go lower," the company advised, noting historical precedents and emphasizing that federal and environmental processes limit operational choices.
On data‑center water use and withdrawals: County members asked whether future industrial users (for example, data centers) could obtain permissions to withdraw cooling water from the lake. Appalachian Power staff said any proposal would require multi‑agency review and approvals (DEQ, DWR, FERC and others) and that drought conditions could be a determining factor in denying new withdrawal permits: "Should that ever occur, all those agencies...would have to weigh in on any other proposal to pull water out of Smith Mountain," they said.
What residents need to know: The utility recommended residents use its public project site and sign up for alerts. Staff said short‑term local rainfall events may not translate immediately into stable lake rises (soil absorption and downstream routing reduce immediate returns), meaning restoration of normal lake levels is dependent on sustained regional precipitation.
Ending: The utility offered to participate in community briefings and said it would provide data and maps to local officials and groups. County leaders requested additional town‑hall–style sessions to explain triggers, expected scenarios and contingency planning for shoreline and economic impacts.
