ROANOKE, Va., April 21, 2009 – Appalachian Power has modified its normal release of water from the Smith Mountain Project Leesville Dam into the Staunton River.
 
Adjusted water releases from the dam are designed to enhance striped bass spawning downstream.  The modified release may last as long as 45 days depending on needs projected by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF).
 
Appalachian Power conducts modified releases in accordance with federal license requirements from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and in cooperation with VDGIF.  The releases will be similar to those managed in past years during the striped bass spawning period.
 
Releases from Leesville will be adjusted throughout this period to provide a flow of approximately 1900 cubic feet per second (cfs) on Mondays and Tuesdays to allow VDGIF to collect fish; 1200cfs will be maintained the rest of the week to enhance spawning. The amount of water released from Leesville takes into account local river conditions to achieve required flows measured at Brookneal.
 
Appalachian Power works with VDGIF to provide the flows required for the striped bass spawning while minimizing effects on lake levels at the Smith Mountain Project.
 
All flow modifications are contingent upon restrictions or requirements that may be caused by extreme weather or other demands. Changes may be made to the flow release schedule without notice.
 
Up-to-date information on water levels at Smith Mountain Lake and Leesville Lake is available on Appalachian Power’s on-line site:
http://www.aep.com/environmental/renewables/hydro/default.asp
 
Smith Mountain Project is a 636-megawatt pumped storage hydroelectric facility that utilizes an upper reservoir (Smith Mountain Lake) and a lower reservoir (Leesville Lake.)  Water stored in Smith Mountain Lake first passes through turbine-generators in the powerhouse to produce electricity and is discharged into Leesville Lake.  Most of the water is retained in Leesville Lake and pumped back into the Smith Mountain Lake for re-use.  A portion of the water goes through the turbine-generators at the Leesville powerhouse to generate additional electricity and to meet the minimum discharge requirements of the project´s operating license. 
 
Appalachian Power provides electricity to 1 million customers in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee (as AEP Appalachian Power). It is a unit of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, with 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. 
 
 
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