Temperature Monitoring

Following the installation of the Rover Run dog park on the hillside next to the parking area for the Tugaloo Swim Beach, the Tellico Village Property Owners Association (TVPOA) consented to support WATeR to undertake a water quality monitoring program to ensure suitability of the lake water at the swim beach for the purpose of recreational swimming, particularly after rainfall events. From 2021 through 2025, WATER conducted regular E. coli monitoring at several locations, in

This chart shows where WATeR has tested for E. Coli this past year. Testing is performed during dry weather, and then after a heavy rain event when runoff would occur that would wash contaminants into the water. In these tests, there were no areas that cause concern.

This chart shows the results of testing of the swim beaches on the reservoir. In a couple of cases, the result after a rain event exceeded the state recommended limit of 487 cfu/100ml. At these locations, caution is advised, particularly in the 48 hour period after a heavy rain.

Thanks to a grant from the TVA a collaboration between WATeR (Watershed Association of the Tellico Reservoir) and the Microbiology Department at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville (UTK) was initiated in 2022 to conduct a study of the phytoplankton (algae) within the reservoir. The objectives were to see what specific organisms comprised the phytoplankton, and to try to identify environmental circumstances that would help in the understanding of how to manage the phytopl

The reservoir is mesotrophic.

While water quality samples periodically collected in Tellico Lake have consistently revealed exceptionally low concentrations of E. coli bacteria, samples from tributary creeks flowing through rural agricultural areas have revealed levels of E. coli well in access of the limit specified for recreational use. Much of these areas are used for grazing, and cattle often have access to the streams. Extensive effort and resources have and are being devoted to assisting farmers to

The Water Quality Improvement Committee (WQIC) of the Watershed Association of the Tellico Reservoir (WATeR) is pleased to announce that terms of an agreement with Madisonville have been accepted by the U.S. Eastern District Court in Knoxville. WATeR teamed with the Tennessee Clean Water Network (TCWN) in 2014 to initiate litigation against Madisonville to insure proper treatment of the city’s wastewater. Madisonville’s current treatment plant is old and has been poorly mai