CELINA, Tenn. (Sept. 2, 2011) —The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District opened a sluice gate at the Dale Hollow Dam today to supplement hydropower releases with additional oxygen and water quality.
Whenever a sluice gate is open, the waters below dams are considered a restricted area due to hazardous waters. During sluice gate operation vessels are to stay 500 feet downstream from the dam.
Sluicing provides oxygen critical to the survival of fish in the tailwater, but hazardous conditions are also created near the dam. Boaters are advised to avoid the area. Sluicing has been used to improve water quality in the summer and fall below Center Hill and Wolf Creek Dams since 2004 but has not been required at Dale Hollow until this year.
With warmer, nutrient-rich water resulting in depleted oxygen levels at the lake, sluicing is expected to continue until cooler weather causes the oxygen-rich water at the lake surface to cool down and mix with the rest of the lake sometime late this fall.
Unlike turbine releases which are relatively calm, sluice releases can be quite turbulent and can be a hazard for boaters directly below the dam. Boaters are encouraged to avoid the area and wear life jackets while fishing.
For more information about the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District, visit the district’s website at www.lrn.usace.army.mil, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/nashvillecorps and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/nashvillecorps.