Sep 27, 2007 - Knight Ridder Tribune Business News
Author(s): Justin Faulconer

Sep. 27--MONETA- Like many area farms, Smith Mountain Lake is suffering from drought.

Water has dropped several feet below "full pond" with dry weather causing less inflow. Appalachian Power Company uses Smith Mountain along with Leesville Lake to make electricity from a hydroelectric dam. The Tri-County Relicensing Committee -- public officials from four counties bordering the lakes -- is worried that the low levels create safety hazards for boaters. In updating its license with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), AEP hired a North Carolina firm to analyze a drought management model that deals with the issue. Brian J. McCrodden, vice president of HydroLogics, Inc.

in Raleigh, N.C., presented the model to lake stakeholders on Wednesday at Trinity Ecumenical Parish in Franklin County. Reducing the outflow from Leesville Lake from 250 cubic feet per second to 400 cubic feet per second is part of the model. John Shepelwich, an AEP spokesman, said the company agreed with the Department of Environmental Quality for the outflow reduction until drought conditions change. The drought crippled crop production and feed reserves for Bedford farmers to the point that Gov. Timothy M. Kaine declared the county a disaster area this summer. When asked by a citizen if the drought model considers global warming, McCrodden replied that it is based on historical data.

"It assumes weather patterns are going to continue," he said. "The real issue here is issuing 50-year licenses when we don't know what's going to happen." A drought study is one of 14 that AEP is doing on separate lake issues, from debris removal to sedimentation, as part of its relicensing effort. TCRC has called for AEP to take better "stewardship" of these issues in the new license. Frank Simms, AEP's manager of hydro generation, said the company has invested more than $3 million in the studies and takes its stewardship role very seriously. "Many of the things we do are well outside of the requirements of our license and are done so at no additional cost to those living along or visiting the lakes," Simms said.

Meetings about these studies continue today and Friday at Trinity Ecumenical Parish at 9 a.m.