Drowning in debris

LAURIE EDWARDS | Laker Weekly

Woody debris has collected around a no-wake buoy near Bay Roc Marina at Hardy Ford Bridge. Debris often collects in the area after heavy rains because of its location at the top of the Roanoke River.

Courtesy of Teresa Criner

Debris accumulated in Teresa Criner's cove near R42 after heavy December rains. Criner and her neighbors are discussing hiring a contractor to clean it up.

On a mid-December day, Teresa Criner looked out her window of her home and saw a few pieces of debris floating in the cove near R42. Two days later, a neighbor called and told her to take another look, she said. The cove was full.

"It's a significant amount of trash," said Criner. "It's like somebody threw their garbage bags down into the lake."

She spied plastic bottles, basketballs and tires. There were tree branches, mulch-sized wood chips, a log and a floating dock.

"It's disheartening and disgusting to have to look at," said Criner.

Criner had to keep looking longer than she wanted; there was no one available to clean up the mess. Appalachian Power's skimmer has been moored near Magnum Point Marina since Dec. 1, when the utility started cleaning up debris on the Blackwater arm after heavy rains in November brought debris into the lake.

Because of the weather, cleanup has been touch-and-go, said Ken Stump, Appalachian Power hydro-support specialist.

"It's employee safety," he said. "When you get cold temperatures and you've got cold water, you just don't want to take a chance of an employee going into the water."

To make matters worse, parts of the lake have frozen over, making navigation difficult, said Liz Parcell, plant coordinator with American Electric Power, parent company of Appalachian Power.

"We're just working on the days we can," she said.

In the meantime, Criner and her neighbors have called lake contractors for price quotes to remove the debris. One quote was $3,200 for two dumpster loads. Criner estimates it may take five to 10 loads to clear the cove.

"It will be a very time-consuming and tedious process," she said.

Parcell said if homeowners can wait, the skimmer will get to them as soon as weather permits. Then again, the weather might clear out their coves before the skimmer gets there.

"The wind is going to float it around," said Parcell. "If it's in their cove now, it'll be in someone else's cove tomorrow."

The cleanup process

When residents spot debris on the lake, there is a multi-step process to get it removed, said Parcell. It starts with a phone call.

"We have an agreement with TLAC [Tri-County Lake Administrative Commission] and they receive the phone calls from the public reporting where the debris is located," said Parcell. "They kind of get a feel for where the concentrated areas are."

Next, TLAC must find and be granted permission to use an off-load site for the debris, said Pam Dinkle, TLAC's lake management and project coordinator.

John Shepelwich, a spokesman for Appalachian Power, said businesses and individuals provide off-load sites voluntarily.

"It's just kind of the whole cooperative spirit out at the lake," he said.

There aren't enough off-load sites on the lake, said Stump. More are needed. If property owners allow access to additional sites, the process will be expedited. Currently, there are no off-load sites between Bay Roc Marina and Hales Ford Bridge so a lot of time is wasted driving the skimmer up and down the river to the two sites, he said.

"It's really time-consuming when you have to take the skimmer, which moves really slow, to go from Bay Roc down," said Stump.

Off-load sites need a boat ramp to move dumpsters of debris onto trucks for disposal. Stump said the access roads can't be too steep and the water needs to be at least 6 feet deep to maneuver the skimmer.

After an off-load site is secured, TLAC provides dumpsters, which the skimmer fills with debris. Then TLAC pays the disposal fees, said Dinkle.

Stump said the skimmer focuses on clearing debris in the defined waterway, but it also ventures into coves with heavy debris accumulation provided it can fit between the boats and docks. Stump likens it to using a snow plow on a city street with cars parked on both sides.

Parcell said in the case of narrow coves, homeowners can push debris out to the skimmer, using rakes or other items.

"Don't push it out now," she said. "Only if we're there and they can push it out to us in the skimmer."

For large solitary items, Appalachian Power works with TLAC's contractors around the lake who own barges and cranes. Parcell said the contractors' equipment is made to handle logs, pilings and broken docks, whereas the skimmer is made to handle smaller debris.

TLAC keeps a map marked with locations where homeowners have tied large solitary items to docks or the shoreline. When enough spots have been detected, TLAC offers its contractors to Appalachian, said Dinkle.

The contractors must have at least one week of work to come out for a job because of the expense involved in transporting barges across the lake, said Dinkle. Appalachian donates money to TLAC to cover the contractors' expenses and TLAC pays for the dumpsters and landfill fees.

TLAC offered its contractors to Appalachian in January to clean up after the November rains, but they have not yet been scheduled, said Dinkle.

"We decided that we would hold off in case there was another rain event, which there was," said Parcell.

She said Appalachian may need to utilize the contractors for two weeks, instead of one.

How to help

There are ways to minimize the impact heavy rain events have on debris at the lake, accaording to Appalachian and TLAC. In addition to the obvious don't-throw-trash-in-the-lake advice, homeowners can take a more proactive approach.

Criner said she wishes homeowners could stretch booms or other inflatable material across cove mouths to keep the debris from coming in, but it's illegal.

"You can't impede the flow of navigational traffic in any shape or form without going through a process to get approval," said Lt. Tony Fisher of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. "Just to put a log boom up there to keep debris out, that would never be passed."

While there are few boaters on the lake now because of cold weather and frozen coves, the SML Marine Volunteer Fire/Rescue Co. must be able to access all coves in case of fire.

Deputy Chief Al Busch said the Marine Fire/Rescue volunteers have to worry about dodging debris when en route to a call.

"Especially at night because you can't see it. You cross your fingers," he said. "Sometimes there are pockets of debris, go around a turn and you'll see a solid, half an acre of debris, and then it's clear on the other side."

To keep the debris to a minimum, Parcell said property owners can clean up the shoreline in anticipation of a heavy rain event.

"Go down to your shoreline and take a look at what's there and remove everything that can float away," said Parcell.

She and Dinkle said they've heard many reports recently of basketballs floating in coves; they likely washed into the lake from someone's yard.

I think they can collect basketballs if they'd like to do so," said Dinkle. "They could supply a whole team with basketballs for the whole year."

She said residents should also remove any woody debris from the shoreline, disposing of it or at least pulling it up to a higher elevation. After two years of drought-like conditions, a lot of natural debris accumulated along the shoreline, said Dinkle. Much of that has been pulled into the lake in the past few months.

"If they [homeowners] would address that, then that would alleviate some of the debris that makes it into the water," said Dinkle.

When debris does begin accumulating after a heavy rain, Dinkle urged residents to pick up items they can reach from the shoreline. Dinkle said homeowners should not attempt to wade into the water at this time of year for cleanup and should not handle anything heavy or potentially hazardous.

Additionally, a large-scale effort to clean the lake is scheduled for May 1. The 22nd annual Take Pride in SML Clean Up Day is looking for volunteers to help pull several tons of debris from the water during the all-day event. Appalachian Power and many lake contractors also will be participating.

"Thank God Take Pride in SML is in existence," said Parcell. "We'll need lots of volunteers this year. There will be plenty to do."

To report debris, call the TLAC office at 721-4400. For more information about Take Pride in SML, visit www.sml.us.com.