About Us | WATeR

The Watershed Association of the Tellico Reservoir

The Watershed Association of the Tellico Reservoir (WATeR) supports policies and projects that protect and improve the environment in and around Tellico Reservoir.

Trails: We maintain 31 miles of the East Lakeshore Trail

Reservoir: We sample the lake periodically for chemical and bacterial contaminates and for phytoplankton effects on clarity.

Watershed: We perform studies of streams and seek grants to remediate problems identified.

Industrial outfalls: We monitor the outfalls for compliance with permits.

Education: We inform the public on the state of the lake, current and future threats.

Government Agencies we work with:

The association is non-profit and non-partisan. The focus is on issues, policies, and practices that promote clean air, water, and natural habitat so that humans can live, work, and play in harmony with native plants and animals as well as with each other. The association strives to work cooperatively with governmental agencies and private organizations with similar goals and responsibilities for environmental protection and appropriate quality economic growth. Public education and demonstration projects are emphasized to make people aware of environmentally friendly practices that affect the watershed. WATeR strives to involve all stakeholders and to represent everyone interested in preserving and enhancing the environmental quality of the Tellico Reservoir Watershed.

TRDA: Tellico Reservoir Development Agency

USACE: US Army Corp of Engineers m a paragraph.

TWRA: Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency

TDEC: Tennessee Department of Envronment and Conservation

TVA: Tennessee Valley Authority

NRCS: Natural Resource Conservation Service

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How WATeR Began

What We Do

Typical activities include:

Water quality improvement
Watershed cleanup
Building & maintaining hiking and nature trails
Pollution prevention
Environmental education
Shoreline protection

How do we do this?

We work cooperatively with State, Federal, and Local government agencies and other organizations with similar interests and responsibilities including:

TVA
TDEC
USDA
TWRA
TRDA

Officers

David Flanagan, President: Retired International Automotive industry executive. BME, Kettering University; MBA, U. of Michigan. Lives in Tellico Village, TN. davidflanagan@tellicowater.org

Mollie Lenoir May, Treasurer: Retired Pharmacist. Board Member of Keep Monroe County Beautiful. BS, U. of Georgia; Doctor of Pharmacy, Mercer University. Lives on her family farm in Fork Creek. treasurer@tellicowater.org

Sally Leonhard, Secretary: received her M.D. from the University of Miami in 1974, and a J.D. from the University of Maryland in 1993. She is Board Certified in Internal Medicine. For most of her career, Sally was the CEO of a Community Health Center in Southern Maryland. Sally has completed certification as a Tennessee Naturalist and was active in the Master Gardener program in Maryland before moving to Tennessee. Sally is a member of the Garden Club. Sally serves on the Finance Committee of the Church of the Resurrection. Lives in Tellico Village, TN. sallyleonhard@tellicowater.org

Board of Directors

Bill Atkinson: retired NJ Registered Environmental Health Specialist, Gloucester County NJ. BS Environmental Science, Rutgers University. Lives in Tellico Village TN

David Barnes: Retired HVAC industry executive. Bachelor in Engineering, U. of Tennessee. Lives in WindRiver, TN. davidbarnes@tellicowater.org

Jan Berry: retired from Oak Ridge National Laboratory where she managed the Tokamak Cooling Water System and other projects addressing energy efficiency and waste management. She earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Chemical Engineering. She is an active volunteer in Citizens’ Climate Lobby, whose mission is to “build the political will to act on climate change”, Braver Angels, whose mission is to “bring Americans together to bridge the partisan divide and strengthen our democratic republic”, and the American Nuclear Society (ANS), whose mission is to “embrace the nuclear sciences and technologies for their vital contributions to improving people’s lives and preserving the planet”. She lives in Foothills Pointe. janberry@tellicowater.org

Renee Eastman: Retired water and power utility executive with extensive experience in government affairs. B.A. Political Science from University of Alabama. Lives in Tellico Village, TN.

Jeff Rauch: Retired from a successful sales career in the Food industry. He serves on the board of T-Bart and is a member of the Tellico Village Fishing Club. BS, Indiana University. Jeff is a resident of Tellico Village. Jeffrauch@tellicowater.org

Maria Hinkley: Retired Litigation Partner, Chief Diversity Officer, Sidley Austin LLP, New York, NY. BS, Syracuse University; JD, Albany Law School. Lives in WindRiver, TN.

Russ House: Quality Manager, Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc. B.S. Engineering, U. Tennessee. Lives in Tellico Harbor, TN.

Phil Selker: Retired Technical Solutions Architect, Cisco. BS, Penn. State; MS, Johns Hopkins. Lives in WindRiver, TN.

Water Quality Improvement Committee

Bill Waldrop, Chairman: Retired Prof. Hydrologist & Engineer, Ph.D.; Previously Aerodynamicist w/ USAF & NASA; Post Doc. W/ LSU Chem. Eng. & Coastal Studies Inst.; Mngr. TVA Water Resource Environmental Projects; Owner & Tech. Dir. of Groundwater Testing & Instrument Development Co., Founder & Past Pres. WATeR; Chair of Water Quality Improvement Comm.; Resident of Tellico Village since 1992.

Bill Atkinson: Retired NJ Registered Environmental Health Specialist, Gloucester County NJ. BS Environmental Science, Rutgers University. Lives in Tellico Village TN

Cecil Clontz: Retired systems architect primarily in wireless and telecommunications. A self-professed Geek, his technical interests lie in electronic design, software, CAD, and additive/subtractive fabrication. Cecil serves on the T-BART Operations Team as webmaster and T-BART Board as the Director of Technology and Info systems. Lives in Tellico Village TN

Jack Hall: retired V.P. Analytical Services, Dow. BS, Chemistry, Penn State University. Lives in Tellico Village TN

Richard Harris: Retired Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/Bone Marrow Transplant physician, Cincinnati Children's Hospital. College and Med School, University of Virginia. Lives near Tellico Plains. Active member of Benton MacKaye Trail Association and Cherokee Hiking Club. Does lots of trail maintenance.

Garry Lucas: retired fisheries biologist, Mississippi Dept. of Wildlife, Fisheries, & Parks. M.S. Fisheries Management, Auburn University. Lives in Tellico Village TN

Alan W. Maki: served as Senior Environmental Scientist for ExxonMobil and retired in 2006. He received his Ph.D. in Wildlife and Fisheries Management from Michigan State University. He has authored and co-authored over 250 publications and reports and 6 books on numerous aspects of environmental quality. Dr. Maki is a former member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Science Advisory Board and has served on numerous advisory panels for EPA Office of Research and Development. He is a former President of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, and has served on National Academy of Science panels concerned with the assessment and management of ecological risks. He lives in Harbor Pointe, in Vonore.

Randy Morse: Retired biology teacher and biotech R&D/business development VP. MS-Biology

from Cornell University. Strong interest and education in ecology. Lives in Tellico Village.

Bruce Rein: Retired Product Engineering Manager for Ford Motor company. Past Vice President of WATeR and Past Chair of the Shoreline Cleanup Committee. BSIE from Western Michigan University and MBA from Eastern Michigan University. Has lived in Tellico Village since 1996.

Gary Zika: Retired Program Manager for Harris County Flood Control District, Houston, TX, extensive experience in heavy civil projects ranging from water, sewer, roads, drainage, and structures.

BS Civil Engineering, Bradley University, MBA University of Pittsburgh. Professional Engineer in TX and

IL. Lives in Tellico Village.

Deborah Thurston: Gutsgell Professor Emeritus Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Lives in Tellico Village.