Water levels drop as rainfall deficit grows in Central Va.

It has rained enough in the last few months to keep the grass green and fall colors brilliant.

It has not rained near enough, though, to replenish area reservoirs or keep the James River flowing at a normal level.

Pedlar Reservoir, Lynchburg’s primary water source, has been below the spillway since early June — much longer than usual. The city currently is pulling 35 percent of its water from the James River, a waterway gradually dropping to seasonal levels not seen for more than a decade.

A key indicator of those low levels can be found at Lake Moomaw, a 2,530-acre reservoir high in the mountains of Bath and Allegany counties. A goal of the reservoir project was to boost the James’ flow during low water periods, and a significant portion of the water in the lake is set aside for that.

As of October 31, about 90 percent of that reserve already had been sent downstream.

With only 10 percent of the reserve left, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reduced the amount of water discharged from the lake to 100 cubic feet per second, almost half its normal flow.

“We’re very concerned, which is why we’ve implemented these reductions,” said Jason Hill, with the Department of Environmental Quality. “(Forecasters are) projecting lower-than-normal precipitation and to give this reservoir the chance to reach full pond again, hopefully these measures will help.”

Like many waterways in Central Virginia, the James River is flowing well below normal. As of Saturday, about 525 cubic feet per second was flowing past Lynchburg, less than half the average flow for this time of year, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

That’s still plenty of water for Lynchburg’s consumption needs, city utilities director Tim Mitchell said. About 350 million gallons per day still flow past the city, which currently uses about 10million to 12 million gallons daily.

However, the low water can adversely impact the environment and cause water supply planning concerns. Heading into the winter with the city’s primary water source so low is unusual, Mitchell said.

“Usually at this time we’re pretty close to having a full reservoir because we’ve had a tropical storm that has come along and filled it,” he said.

Long-term forecasts predict that the upcoming winter will have below-normal precipitation.

As of Friday, Lynchburg’s rainfall was more than 13 inches below normal for the year.

A DEQ water supply report released last month said, “The longer range concern is that lower-than-normal precipitation during the fall and winter of 2008-2009 will deepen the existing accumulated precipitation deficits and set the stage for significant drought impacts across all socio-economic sectors in the spring of 2009.”

In the last two weeks, Pedlar Reservoir has risen several inches, but the level still is 140 inches below the spillway. The last time water flowed over the dam was in early June. Last winter, Pedlar remained significantly below the spillway until February, not filling until March.

That puts a strain on the city utilities budget because when Lynchburg has to withdraw water from the backup source, the James River, treatment chemical costs rise along with the power bill, Mitchell said.

It costs between $50 and $60 to treat 1 million gallons of water from Pedlar Reservoir. However, it costs about $250 to treat a million gallons from the James River because it needs additional treatment chemicals and electricity to pump the water from the river to the two filtration plants. There is no energy cost for water from Pedlar because it flows by gravity to the city.

Currently, the city is drawing 35 percent of its water supply, which also serves portions of other area localities, from the river.

“We’re kind of in a similar situation as we were last year, kind of past the tropical storm season and now we’re heading into the winter,” Mitchell said. “As a consequence, it’s not likely the reservoir will be full before spring.”

Lynchburg budgeted $297,000 for chemical costs in fiscal year 2008, but spent $404,000, Mitchell said. The department increased that budget for FY 2009 to $396,000, but so far has already used $140,000 in the first quarter.

While those costs were significantly higher, the overall budget was not impacted because there were other areas of savings, Mitchell said.

“If we get into a position where we’re going to be over in the overall budget, then we have a bigger issue than if we are over on a line item.”

In addition to economic and supply planning issues related to low water, there are environmental impacts that range from water quality concerns to the amount of fish in the river.

This fall, water in the James has taken on a much darker color than normal, resembling strong iced tea. That’s caused by a combination of brown algae that hasn’t been washed away from periodic high flows and increased concentrations of tannins from paper mills upstream, Hill said.

The darkness isn’t a major concern to water quality because high levels of tannins occur naturally in many streams where water is naturally acidic, Department of Game and Inland Fisheries fish biologist Scott Smith said. The only impact is blocking out light that sustains plant and algae growth, Smith said.

A major water quality concern during drought is low dissolved oxygen, but Hill said dropping temperatures are keeping that amount in the good range because cold water holds more oxygen.

However, low water does impact fish and even has caused DGIF to postpone fall fish stocking until the water rises. “It doesn’t do much good to stock if there isn’t much water because you just feed the bigger fish,” Smith said.

When the water levels drop, the fish tend to move closer together where the water is deeper, Smith said. Early on, predator fish do well because it’s easier to find food, but that effect is temporary. Most fish born this year have been killed off by predators.

The smallmouth bass spawning season was “not very good” and Smith said biologists were able to trace that to the spring drought. “If you have one year like that and it goes back to normal, you don’t notice the impact that much. If you have two or more years like that, you start to see a noticeable reduction in fish in the river, he said.

“A one-year drought is pretty common. A two-year drought like the one we’re in now happens from time to time,” Smith said, “but if we get a third year of it, then there will really be problems next year in a lot of different areas.

“Fish tend not to do well without any water.”