Mon
Sep 28 2009
07:16 am
No Water Sampling During High Water by EPA, TDEC, or TVA
By: WhitesCreek

Several times I have requested that water quality sampling be done as the Emory River is rising due to heavy rain. This is what we get:

From the TVA Contractor:

Date: Sun, Sep 27, 2009 at 7:33 PM
Subject: FW: CAG info on flows

Heavy rainfall has continued in the greater-Kingston region, with over 1 inch falling this past Saturday. The Emory River is currently flowing at 10,094 cubic feet per second (cfs) at the Oakdale Gauge and according to NOAA is expected to peak late tonight between 17,000 and 18,000 cfs. Current stage height is 12.34 feet and the Emory is predicted to peak early Sunday morning at 15.8 feet. Flood stage for the Emory River at Oakdale is 27 feet. More information on stream flows and the relationships to flooding potential can be found at (link...)

In keeping with our surface water sampling plan, we will take water quality samples from the Emory, Clinch and Tennessee rivers tomorrow...

When you are spending over a million dollars a day is it too much to ask that you get someone to fill up a sample bottle when it is raining? We kknow from the May 4 flood that even 24 hours later the turbidity drops to less than a tenth of the peak. Is the real goal here to NOT find anything wrong? If that is the goal then the current methodology is excellent for that purpose.

Update: TVA now says they sampled on Sunday.

Water sampling

Submitted by RICK on September 28, 2009 - 10:06am.

Water sampling is done in the same areas every time. Some think maybe they do it this way so they can get the results they want.
Instead of sampling water while the water is rising and flowing at its maximum during a rain event, they wait until the day after it rains.
I asked about coal ash migration into the Clinch and Tennessee rivers, and got no definitive answer. They send you to 3 different web sites that really don't tell you anything about coal migration. Yes, they will tell you that the Emory is at 17,000 to 18,000 cfs. But, with 2 plus inches of rain, we knew that already.
Getting accurate information from them is like pulling teeth. The information we SHOULD be getting should be accurate and complete. We should not have to fill in the blanks.

I can tell you it's

Submitted by LISAinTN on September 28, 2009 - 11:39am.

I can tell you it's migrating again.

I just looked at the

Submitted by WhitesCreek on September 28, 2009 - 12:12pm.

I just looked at the confluence of the Clinch and Emory Rivers and was surprised by something. The Emory is a cleaner color than the Clinch as far as sediment. Of course the ash will have washed on downstream this long after the rain has stopped, so I expected it to be its normal two days after a rain color. What surprised me is the substantial mud color in the Clinch, which should have most of its rain sediment dropped out in Melton Hill lake.

Where is the mud in the Clinch River coming from? I know Rarity has been repeatedly cited for storm water violations. Are they still pumping in mud?

Where are the river cleanup crews?

Submitted by ConcernedCitizen on September 28, 2009 - 1:50pm.

Where are the river cleanup crews? They have been hanging around the I-40 bridge for the last couple of weeks like the Maytag repairmen and now that the river is covering the banks with trash, cenospheres and who knows what, (some type of green crud is floating on the surface) they are nowhere to be seen.

saw some green stuff in the latest set of photos on the epa site

Submitted by SFCharlie on September 28, 2009 - 9:06pm.

didn't know if it was flextra or algae

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.

Eco warriors and politics

Science and stuff

Lost Medicaid Funding

To date, the failure to expand Medicaid / TennCare has cost the State of Tennessee ? in lost federal funding.

Sponsors