Let's Make Waves! Update TVA Tailwater Recreation Initiatives
- by: Kat Levitt
- recipient: The TVA Board, TVA Executives & Management Staff, Tennessee State Agencies, State, County and City Leaders
Water is our most valuable asset and commodity. Water brings people together, stimulating us to get active and play outside. Whether you fish, surf, paddle, run, walk, or simply relax with water in the background, please sign this petition in favor of updated recreation initiatives below the Ocoee River's tail race. In addition to continuing Ocoee River releases for whitewater recreation, we propose the creation of an Ocoee River Park, downstream of the hydroelectric power house. High quality river surf features that promote safety and enhance fisheries are spanning the nation and the globe, yet Tennessee has still not created one with their vast water resources! This will:
1) Further popularize and help achieve balance for an exclusively seasonal economy based on upstream river recreation.
2) Increase personal safety on all rivers & provide paddle sports education opportunities that bridge the learning gap between novice and advanced levels.
3) Reduce crowds, traffic, and impact on the upstream river during cap days.
4) Provide a popular, updated event venue site that is affordable to use.
5) Further enhance an improving river fishery by aerating water, concentrating food sources, and provide a stable bank to fish from.
This site will allow TVA to brilliantly showcase sustainable, cooperative recreation by multiple user groups that brings generous economic benefits to a local community during times of energy generation, in addition to the current model which provides recreation to one user group during times of diversion.
We all seek water for it's keen ability to rejuvenate the mind, body and soul. When readily accessible to the people, the presence of falling water magnetizes green spaces and promotes health and wellness, in much the same way it helps fish and aquatic species thrive too. Flowing water is life-giving to all. TVA controls so much water, the routes and frequency with which it flows, and the enhancement it places upon our lives. Stemming from an enormous initial vision and ambitious primitive framework, the TVA achieved tremendous success by strategically leveraging water to solve big, region wide problems. As time marches on, beyond the age of fossil power excess, TVA must again adapt and solve unique problems for the people of the growing Tennessee Valley. While TVA moves into a new phase, seeking to diversify their strategies for energy, environment, and economic development within a modern age, WATER is again under the microscope for it's ability to achieve great things. Please tell TVA that the value of every drop of water flowing downstream can be further maximized, whether it moves through hydroelectric infrastructure, the natural stream channel, or both. The investment in this debut project is a small one time cost that represents excellent returns. Let's get TVA to help a community make waves. Let TVA know that we want to see them adapt and succeed in the future. And finally, let's build this park in memory and honor of the late Jeff West, because it was originally his vision and dream to build this.
Dear Honorable TVA Board, TVA Executives & Management Staff, Tennessee State Agency Leadership, Tennessee Community Leaders and Lawmakers;
I would like to thank many of you for your support in regards to the continuation of Ocoee River whitewater. At this time, I would also like to urge those of you who have not yet decided your stance to consider encouraging the Ocoee River to run within the stream bed, diverting hydroelectric energy during the times allocated for whitewater recreation, in order to keep a valuable centerpiece of tourism firmly in place for the local, state and regional economy.
As a river enthusiast, I join many in expressing gratitude for the water released there and I hope it continues. However, I do believe that Ocoee water is valuable beyond even the scope of what is currently being leveraged. I also notice that the river corridor is very crowded at times, in terms of river and road traffic, and that eventually this will need to be addressed. In order to remove some immediate pressure and impact and also in order to further maximize the value of each drop of water that flows from the Ocoee River (in terms of both generation and diversion) there is a simple solution that TVA and the State of Tennessee can help facilitate. I support the creation of an Ocoee River aeration/surf feature below the generating tail race but upstream of boat ramps and parking.
High quality river surf features exist in surrounding states and now span the globe. Despite vast water resources, underutilized real estate, appropriate talent and muscles, states beneath TVA's umbrella are lagging behind in this endeavor. Event venues and river surfing has been luring many of the region's best paddlers away to other places for the past decade or so. In addition to supplementing the seasonal local economy with more dollars during seasonal low times, the proposed water features I support will serve to stabilize any eroding bank issues, aerate the water, attract baitfish and enhance an improving fishery. As the Ocoee River and Parksville Lake's water quality continue to improve, this is a critical time to consider valuable environmental benefits and supplement the fishery.
TVA has the resources to be successful beyond all measure on a project such as this. Many precedents speak to TVA's investment and support of water aeration infrastructure, but multiple benefits are always better than one. Perhaps this project will not be the last, but it is certainly low hanging fruit that should be considered as a small investment in the updating and long term sustainability of a whitewater mecca that TVA has helped facilitate for the past three decades. This project will successfully model that user groups with overlapping interests can benefit in unison and enjoy the waters together. Though the fruition of this endeavor, it is my hope that world class whitewater events, such as those that exist around the nation and Europe, can once again be held at the Ocoee River, allowing TVA to share in the prestige and celebration that the Ocoee has been recently missing.
Thank you for your valuable time.
Sincerely,
_______________________________________
By signing, you accept Care2's Terms of Service.
You can unsub at any time here.
Having problems signing this? Let us know.