Appalachian Power Company (APCo) needs to affect repairs to damaged flashboards at the Buck spillway, which is part of the Byllesby/Buck Hydroelectric Project on the New River located within Carroll County, Virginia. Therefore, APCo will be temporarily lowering the Buck reservoir water surface elevation (i.e., drawdown) by approximately 8 feet to allow for the flashboard repair work. This will necessitate temporary closure of the Buck portage.
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**The reservoir drawdown will begin at approximately noon on Sunday, July 7, 2024, with the goal of reaching the target elevation of approximately 1 foot below the spillway crest elevation (i.e., approximately 1,994.0 feet) at approximately noon on Monday, July 8, 2024.
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The flashboard repair work is expected to be completed in one to two weeks. However, high flow conditions on the New River may alter the planned schedule and/or duration of the work, should they occur.
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Note that, during the drawdown of the Buck reservoir, last take out point is at the Byllesby reservoir and the next downstream put in point is at Ivanhoe. Please plan your recreational activities on the New River accordingly and feel free to forward this notification to others for their awareness.
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APCo will post signs regarding the Buck canoe portage closure at all public upstream access points along the river and issue a news release by Friday, July 5, 2024, and post a notice to its HYDRO PLANT LEVELS & FLOWS webpage at https://www.aep.com/recreation/hydro#Roanoke on Sunday, July 7, 2024. Additionally, the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resource will likewise post a notice on its webpage at https://dwr.virginia.gov/alerts/.
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