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On June 1st at 7pm Teanna McKinney, Administrator of Elections in McMinn County will speak to the public at the Democratic Headquarters in Athens located at 9 Kilgore Street (down the street from Fullers frame shop). She will be updating us on changes being made for upcoming elections and will answer any questions about elections in our county.

Unless you spent the past month touring Antarctica, you probably know that Etowah is dealing with drinking water that tastes and smells bad. The Hiwassee River is the only source for Etowah’s water, so the Etowah Utility Department is hard pressed to do anything about it.

Hoping to gain an understanding of what is happening, I emailed TVA. No response. Then I emailed Tennessee’s office of the Environmental Protection Agency. No response. Thinking a non-profit conservation organization might communicate with common folk, I contacted Mountain True over in North Carolina. It works with diverse interests to promote healthy watersheds in North Carolina. No response.

I am not a scientist, but since I cannot find one willing to communicate with The Great Unwashed, I will do my best to share what little I do know.n oos a lot like 'Succession.' Here's why

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Most people know the Hiwassee River is not a free-running river. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) controls the flow. The Hiwassee heads up in North Carolina and Georgia, but it travels through a series of TVA dams and a mountain tunnel before it empties into the riverbed at Apalachia Powerhouse (located upriver from Reliance).

TVA says the odor and taste is due to an algae bloom in the river. Multiple factors can cause algae blooms. Examples include agricultural run-offs, leaking septic or sewer systems, and low water levels. TVA cited a warmer than usual spring, coupled with low rainfall, as the likely cause for the bloom.

I have lived in Etowah for 53 years and this is the first time I recall Etowah’s water smelling and tasting bad. I wonder if 2023 represents the first warmer-than-usual spring coupled with less rainfall here. It’s possible because our climate is changing. Nevertheless, I wonder if other factors might be contributing.

One theory suggests the Cherokee National Forest’s controlled burn on Gee Creek might have played a role in the bloom. The burn was followed by a downpour that flushed the ash into the Hiwassee at a time when the water was very low. I asked a retired natural resources manager about it. He did not say it was impossible, but he was skeptical.

Finding an answer is complicated. The Hiwassee River in Tennessee is affected by how it is managed in North Carolina and Georgia. In 1933, as part of President Roosevelt’s “New Deal,” Congress created TVA to construct dams on the Tennessee River and its tributaries (including the Hiwassee) for flood control, navigation, and hydroelectric power production.

The project is considered an engineering marvel. In fact, the pump-turbine TVA installed at Hiwassee Dam was designated a National Historical Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Engineers. That said, we can admire TVA’s engineering prowess while also recognizing that conditions have changed over time in ways that might require different approaches.

Local fishermen who monitor the temperature of the Hiwassee River in Polk County tell me the river has consistently warmed over the past couple of decades.

Then, there’s the policy that determines the length of time TVA holds water in the reservoirs in North Carolina and Georgia. That brings me to Lake Chatuge — a man-made impoundment of the Hiwassee River that straddles the North Carolina-Georgia state line in Clay and Towns counties.

TVA built the dam in 1942 to store water for flood control and to aid navigation on the Tennessee River. It also held back water to release for power generation downstream — most notably, at Hiwassee Dam.

After World War II, TVA shifted Chatuge’s purpose toward multiple use. That resulted in a new constituency made up of boating enthusiasts, private lakefront homeowners and marinas.

For many years, TVA filled Chatuge until early June for what is known as the “Summer Pool.” Then, it would gradually release water into the Hiwassee River in Tennessee until Labor Day, after which more water was spilled for the “Winter Drawdown.”

At some point, the Chatuge folks began to whine for more deep water for a longer period of time to extend their boating season. I suspect pressure from that group was a factor in TVA’s decision to start holding water at peak levels in Chatuge until late July.

I am uncertain as to what caused the algae bloom, but one thing is certain. The environmental, economic, and social conditions that existed in the Hiwassee River Basin when TVA built the Hiwassee dam system are different today. Maybe it’s time to tweak a few things.

To be fair, TVA develops its management plans with public input and does try to balance competing interests. The most recent draft for the 2020 Natural Resources Plan was released for public comment in 2019. Even though the 2020 plan is in place, it would be helpful to take a fresh look at the management of the Hiwassee River Basin. But — the onus is on us to pay closer attention. - Linda Caldwell

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