hydro power unit outage from AFG

[grizwilson]

Attention Norfork Tailwater trout anglers! Please see the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers press release below regarding work and hydropower unit (turbine) outages at Norfork Dam.  While work is ongoing, the siphon (used for minimum flow) will run continuously and they will use conduits (i.e., sluice gates) that run under Norfork Dam to make additional water releases. Water released through conduits will be cold and well oxygenated, so we do not anticipate any issues with the trout population at this time. However, we will monitor water quality closely throughout the tailwater while the hydropower units are unavailable. Since the timing and duration of water releases from the conduits will vary, we encourage anglers to be extremely mindful of water levels when fishing on the tailwater. Please contact us with any concerns regarding the trout population while this work is ongoing.

 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Press Release (6.6.23): “Ongoing work at Norfork Dam will require [hydropower] unit outages over the next several months and may cause tailwater, rain and siphon data to not populate on our website and app.

 

During these outages, the siphon will be running continuously, and the conduits will be used to make cold water releases and pass flood waters until hydropower units are available to resume generation.

 

The timing and duration of the conduit releases will vary based on pool elevation and downstream water temperatures.

 

You can still view total water release information on our website at www.swl-wc.usace.army.mil and on our app during outages. The app can be found in mobile app stores by searching for USACE Little Rock.”

[netboy]

Thanks for the heads up.

I was above Ackerman yesterday when they started the release at 8am. It hit there just before 9am and I think at least one guy got caught on the wrong side of the river as the water came up very fast. It made for a short day of fishing. It does seem strange that they have started releasing the water at 8am the last couple of days. I know they are concerned about water temps but seems like they could hold off until later in the morning to allow for more fishing time. With that said, I doubt they care much about us fishermen. 

[netboy]

Also, it would be great if they published the anticipated release times on the daily SWPA Generation Schedule so we have some idea of the flows. 

[bryanrob]

Totally agree netboy!!