The annual meeting of the Watershed Association of the Tellico Reservoir will take place at 7 p.m. Nov. 16 in the Christian Life Center of the Community Church at Tellico Village.
“This is our annual meeting where we conduct business and discuss issues of importance to the organization,” David Flanagan, president, said.
WATeR is an all-volunteer, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to protect and improve the environment of the Tellico Reservoir and its watershed. Public membership and attendance at the meeting is encouraged.
The featured speaker this year will be Darrell Guinn, operations support manager of the River Forecast Center at Tennessee Valley Authority in Knoxville.
The TVA center manages the Tennessee river system that includes 49 dams, 29 of which are hydroelectric generating faculties.
Guinn is a civil engineer responsible for day-to-day operational plans and decisions to maximize the benefits of the Tennessee River. His presentation will focus on why TVA was created, the TVA mission, flood control, why lake levels change in spring and fall, benefits of managing the river system and how it impacts people in the region.
Flanagan said Guinn is knowledgeable about many issues related to how TVA operates and the benefits of the many programs the agency administers.
There will be a short business meeting where officers and board members will be elected. There are eight members on the board, four of which are elected each year.
A new officer will be elected to serve as vice president, a position now held by Ellen Papera. Papera said she will be happy to serve if reelected.
“I like to be involved with the community and I’m concerned about the quality of the lake,” Papera said.
Representatives will share about the progress WATeR has made monitoring lake water quality, keeping the environment around the lake as clean as possible and maintaining the East Lakeshore Trail for the use and enjoyment of the public.
As one of many TVA projects organized for National Public Lands Day last month, a group of WATeR volunteers removed brush from along the Coytee Loop branch of East Lakeshore Trail. TVA provided a number of special tools used by volunteers.
The 31-mile ELT was built by WATeR volunteers on TVA property designated for natural resource conservation. In cooperation with TVA, WATeR organizes more than 50 Adopt-A-Trail volunteers who help to maintain the ELT on an ongoing basis.
Flanagan said he is also looking to find a board member who will work with Tennessee Smart Yards. The program encourages homeowners to reduce the amount of fertilizers used in yards and shares other ways to take care of lawns in an environmentally sustainable way.
One of the big issues that impacts WATeR’s mission is runoff of fertilizer from agricultural activity in the watershed.
Flanagan said the organization has increased efforts to monitor the lake as well as the many feeder creeks and streams. One problem is the growth of algae.
“People have noticed that the lake is getting more green and less blue,” he said.
Water temperature is an important issue in the growth of algae. The temperature of the lake has been rising steadily over the past few years, he said.
WATeR also sponsors an annual clean up of the Tellico lakeshore. He said the organization has renewed an ongoing agreement with TVA to maintain trails.
