EN9 - Water sources significantly affected by withdrawal of water
The withdrawal of water from an ecosystem can alter its ability to support important biological and chemical functions. Such changes can affect the quality of the water or the aquatic habitat and have subsequent environmental, quality of life, or economic consequences. Significant water withdrawals are those considered to have an effect on water resources and meet one or more of the following characteristics:
- Account for an average of 5 percent or more of the mean annual flow of a given water
body
- Are from water bodies that are recognized by professionals to be particularly sensitive
due to their relative size, function, or status as a rare, threatened, or endangered
system or due to their support of a particular endangered species of plant or animal
- Are from a nationally or internationally proclaimed conservation area, regardless
of the rate of withdrawal
Some water withdrawals at AEP facilities meet one or more of the above criteria and are considered to be significant (Table 4). For example, four of the facilities (Conesville, Glen Lyn, Muskingum River, and Picway) withdraw more than 5 percent of the mean annual flow of their source water bodies. Seven other facilities have withdrawals from water bodies that have documented populations of threatened or endangered fish or shellfish, most notably freshwater mussels. These facilities are typically hydroelectric projects that do not actually withdraw the water, but pass it through turbines as run-of-river facilities. These facilities include the Byllesby/Buck, Claytor, Leesville, Niagara, and Smith Mountain Lake hydroelectric facilities (Table 4). The Clinch River and Waterford facilities are not hydroelectric projects, but are steam-electric facilities that withdraw cooling water from streams that contain either endangered freshwater mussels (Waterford) or withdraw water from a unique habitat (Clinch River).
The remaining category of significant water withdrawals is that made by facilities located on water-bodies that are designated as salmonid or Outstanding State Resource Waters (OSRW). These include the Berrien Springs and Buchanan hydroelectric facilities (stocked salmonid streams) and the Cook Nuclear Plant (OSRW).
Significant water withdrawals by AEP facilities.
|
Facility |
Type
|
Water Sources
|
Reason for Significant Water Withdrawal Designation
|
|
Berrien Springs
|
Hydro
|
St. Joseph River
|
Salmonid stream
|
|
Buchanan
|
Hydro
|
St. Joseph River
|
Salmonid stream
|
Byllesby/
Buck
|
Hydro
|
New River
|
Green floater mussel (federally threatened) and recently state listed pistolgrip mussel (state threatened) found in New River drainage.
|
|
Claytor
|
Hydro
|
New River
|
Green floater mussel (federally threatened) and recently state listed pistolgrip mussel (state threatened) found in New River drainage; Fringed mountain snail (federally endangered) found in the near vicinity of the Claytor Project boundary.
|
|
Clinch River
|
Coal
|
Clinch River |
River reaches adjacent to the plant are listed as federally designated critical habitat for federally endangered mussels and federally threatened fish, slender chub and yellowfin madtom.
|
|
Conesville
|
Coal
|
Muskingum River
|
>5% of mean flow; Superior High Quality Water designation by Ohio due to high biodiversity and presence of numerous threatened and endangered mussels.
|
|
Cook
|
Nuclear
|
Lake Michigan
|
Outstanding State Resource Water
|
|
Glen Lyn
|
Coal
|
New River
|
>5% of mean flow; Green floater mussel (federally threatened) and recently state listed pistolgrip mussel (state threatened) are found in New River drainage.
|
|
Kanawha River
|
Coal
|
Kanawha River
|
Possible threatened or endangered freshwater mussels.
|
|
Leesville
|
Hydro
|
Roanoke River
|
Roanoke logperch (federally endangered fish) found in the Roanoke River drainage; the Pigg River has a relatively good population of Roanoke logperch and the river's confluence is in Leesville Lake, between Leesville and Smith Mountain Dams.
|
|
Muskingum River
|
Coal
|
Muskingum River
|
>5% of mean flow; Superior High Quality Water designation by Ohio due to high biodiversity and presence of numerous threatened and endangered mussels (threehorn wartyback, Ohio pigtoe, fawnsfoot).
|
|
Niagara
|
Hydro
|
Roanoke River
|
Roanoke logperch (federally endangered fish) found in the Roanoke River drainage.
|
|
Picway
|
Coal
|
Scioto River
|
>5% of mean flow, short-nosed gar (state endangered fish) found upstream of Picway, near the Big Walnut Creek confluence.
|
|
Smith Mountain
|
Hydro
|
Roanoke River
|
Roanoke logperch (federally endangered fish) found in the Roanoke River drainage; the Pigg River has a relatively good population of Roanoke logperch and the river’s confluence is in Leesville Lake, between Leesville and Smith Mountain Dams.
|
|
Waterford
|
Gas
|
Muskingum River
|
Presence of threatened and endangered mussels.
|
