Little
Bear Creek Reservoir
Ecological
health rating
Ecological health conditions in Little Bear Creek Reservoir rated fair in 2007. The reservoir rated fair all previous years, except in 2005 when it rated poor due. primarily to a lower rating for chlorophyll.
TVA monitors one location on Little Bear Creek—the deep, still water near the dam—usually on a two-year cycle.
Little
Bear Creek Reservoir Ecological Health Ratings, 1994-2007
Click chart for raw
data.
The table below
shows the ratings for individual ecological health indicators at Little
Bear Creek in 2007. These ratings are briefly explained in the paragraphs
that follow.
|
Ecological
Health Indicators at
Little Bear Creek Reservoir, 2007
|
|
Monitoring
location
|
Dissolved
oxygen
|
Chlorophyll
|
Fish
|
Bottom
life
|
Sediment
|
| Forebay |
|
|
|
|
|
Dissolved oxygen
As in previous years, dissolved oxygen rated poor. The lower half of the water column contained little oxygen (less than two milligrams per liter) during the summer months.
Chlorophyll
Consistent with previous years, chlorophyll rated good. The exception was in 2005 when slightly elevated chlorophyll concentrations resulted in a fair rating for this indicator.
Fish
The fish community rated at the upper end of the fair range. Fish community scores have consistently been at the upper end of the fair range to good.
Bottom life
Bottom life rated poor because the only animals found in samples collected from the reservoir bottom were species able to tolerate poor water quality conditions.
Sediment
Sediment quality rated good. No pesticides or PCBs were detected, and concentrations of metals were within the expected background levels. Sediment quality has consistently rated good, except for in 2001 when arsenic levels exceeded expected background concentrations, resulting in a fair rating.
See definitions of
ecological health indicators and monitoring locations. |
|
Fish
consumption advisories
There are no fish
consumption advisories for Little Bear Creek Reservoir. TVA collected
channel catfish and largemouth bass from the reservoir for tissue analysis
in autumn 2003. The results, which were similar to those of previous years, were provided to state agencies
in Alabama. TVA will analyze fish from the reservoir again in autumn 2007.
Tennessee Valley Authority
