ROANOKE, Va., March 5, 2013 – The high-water event that helped fill the Smith Mountain Project this winter also washed clean the riverbanks of the tributaries that feed it. In the last few weeks alone Appalachian Power removed 528 tons of mostly woody debris from the Roanoke River arm of Smith Mountain Lake.

“When high water follows drought conditions, it often washes trees, limbs, trash and other debris into the reservoir,” said Teresa Rogers, process supervisor for Hydro Generation Appalachian Power. “This year it’s washed even more floating debris into the lake than normal because the water rose so quickly and with such force.”

The Smith Mountain Pumped Storage Project is a two-reservoir hydroelectric facility that generates electricity at a dam between the gap in Smith Mountain. Water used for generating electricity is then captured downstream in Leesville Lake where it is pumped back in to Smith Mountain Lake to generate again. The company operates the project under a license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. As part of the company’s license it is responsible for removing debris from the navigational channels on the lake when certain conditions arise. More details on the Debris Management Plan, including how to report debris problems, can be found on-line at www.smithmtn.com.

 “The good news is that in addition to removing 1,056,000 pounds of debris, so far clean-up crews found significantly less man-made debris than in years past,” Rogers said. “This is a testament to the volunteer river clean-up efforts upstream in recent years.”

The debris-removal crew will finish up on the Roanoke River arm then move to the Blackwater arm of Smith Mountain Lake and Leesville Lake.

Appalachian Power officials remind boaters to use safe boating practices and watch for floating or submerged debris, especially this time of year.

“While we certainly are able to have an impact on the debris in the lake, it is impossible to remove every piece of floating debris that enters the lake,” Rogers added.

 Appalachian Power has 1 million customers in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee (as AEP Appalachian Power). It is a unit of American Electric Power, one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, which delivers electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation’s largest electricity transmission system, a nearly 39,000-mile network that includes more 765 kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined.

                                                                                ###