07/17/2026
Everyone concerned about SML’s lake level should read Tim Barr’s white paper analysis and the 7 recommendations it provides.
Like everyone else, I've spent this summer watching the water level drop here at the lake. Unlike most people, I've got six plus years of lake data sitting on a server. I decided to analyze the data to better understand what was causing the low water level at Smith Mountain Lake this year.
I'll let you know up front: this is mostly drought, not mismanagement. I know that's not the answer anybody wants to hear.
In July, about 330 cfs flowed into the lake. Appalachian Power's federal license requires them to release at least 400 cfs downstream. When less comes in than the law says has to go out, the lake goes down. Nobody at the plant can change that.
But here's what I didn't expect to find, and what I think we should all be upset about: the deepest water-saving tool in the FERC license and water management plan is legally locked to fall and winter. It can't be used during a summer drought. There's no minimum lake level in the license or plan. And nothing in the plan even accounts for what low water does to our rentals, our restaurants, our marinas, our tourism season.
The rules were written to balance fish, downstream recreation, and power generation. Nobody wrote us into the plan.
I put it all in a paper — the data, every source, and seven things I think we should push to change. You can read the white paper here:
https://sml.plus/
