HOWARD — Concerns about the quality of the water which at times is emptied from Apple Valley Lake into Little Jelloway Creek, has prompted the Ohio EPA and Apple Valley Property Owners Association to work together to find a solution to the environmental problem.
According to Ohio EPA Environmental Specialist Mike Sapp, who has visited and tested the lake and the creek, although the report of the EPA’s findings regarding a comprehensive study of the water quality is not yet completed, the data has prompted the agency to order changes in the way the lake is drained. The study began in the summer of 2007.
“Preliminary standards are that it is not meeting those standards at this time,” Sapp said of the chemical and biological samples taken from the creek.
The report sent to the AVPOA in December cited high levels of lead and zinc concentrations, and a low level of dissolved oxygen. Sapp said low levels of dissolved oxygen occur in the bottom waters of deep lakes which stratify.
“Water, when it warms in the summer or cools in the winter, it has different densities,” Sapp explained in an interview Friday. “Cooler water goes to the bottom of the lake and the oxygen that was present in it is depleted there. This is a natural phenomenon that occurs in deeper lakes and ponds.
Sapp said that fish, like humans, need oxygen, and water with low enough levels of dissolved oxygen can cause a fish kill.
Sapp said the release of water through a drain at the bottom of Apple Valley Lake can cause the water with these low dissolved oxygen levels to be released into Little Jelloway Creek, which is designated as an exceptional warmwater habitat. He explained that more stringent standards regarding temperature and dissolved oxygen levels apply to the creek.
AVPOA General Manager Jeff Harmer said the bottom drain in the lake complied with standards at the time it was constructed.
“Since the dam was designed and built in 1970, [Ohio Department of Natural Resources] required a low level lake drain to permit the lake to be drained,” Harmer said. “It was designed with a continual flow of water from the bottom of the lake.”
Harmer said that as deep waters rise to the surface, they release sulfurous gases in the air, which can produce a rotten egg-like odor. He said the current system was designed to avoid this at the lake.
“This allows for discharge of water prior to the gases being released,” he explained. “This was in the design and has been how this lake has been managed since.”
Sapp’s report cited a number of complaints regarding odor and discoloration in Little Jelloway Creek below Apple Valley Lake. The report also states Ohio EPA field staff, including Sapp, observed odor and discoloration of the water last summer.
“I observed a discharge of blackish blue water from the spillway downstream of the bottom release gate on Apple Valley Lake,” Sapp’s report reads. “The discharge was accompanied by a strong odor of hydrogen sulfide.”
Sapp said the Apple Valley Lake release may be only one cause of the unacceptable metal and oxygen levels in the creek.
“At this time, we suspect the bottom release from the dam at Apple Valley and a wastewater treatment plant downstream,” Sapp said.
He said the Little Jelloway Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, which serves Howard and Apple Valley, is owned and operated by the Knox County Commissioners.
“I’m working to address the problems with the dam release specifically,” Sapp said.
He said the bottom drain, which until the EPA became involved was being used year-round, should only be used in an emergency situation with the dam.
“It’s not meant to control the water elevation in the lake,” Sapp said.
He said the AVPOA has been working toward a solution.
“They’ve been very cooperative and pleasant to work with,” Sapp said of Harmer and his staff. “We’re working with them so they won’t have to use [the bottom release] at all, but they’re not at that point yet.”
Until the EPA gives its approval, the lake level cannot be lowered, Sapp said.
“The lowering process starts in November,” he said. “This year they’ll wait until they get the OK from us.”
He said samples will be taken with a dissolved oxygen probe to make sure the stratified levels of the lake have properly mixed before any water is released.
“If it is not properly mixed, then we would not allow them to do that, but have them wait,” he said.
Sapp said the comprehensive study of the Little Jelloway Creek will be released in the future, and it should provide more information about how aquatic life has been affected.
Brian Benick, director of environmental health for the Knox County Health Department, said his agency is responsible for testing the water at Apple Valley Lake’s three beaches each summer, ensuring the water quality is safe for people using the lake.
“The results have always been excellent,” Benick said.
He said the health department has found the quality of the lake water meets its standards for safe levels of bacteria. Benick said he alerted the Ohio EPA in the past about the foul smelling, discolored water, which he said is released from the bottom of the lake into the creek.
