NORFOLK, Va. - Officials at the Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, have canceled a pulse release scheduled for Sept. 26 at Gathright Dam, near Covington, Va.
After evaluating the high water flows experienced on the Jackson River during Tropical Storm Florence earlier this week, District water managers here made the decision to cancel the pulse release.
The series of pulse releases were developed in cooperation with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, and are designed to remove algae and improve the overall water quality and ecological resources in the lower Jackson River.
During a pulse release, dam operators gradually increase water flow from the dam to a rate of 3,500 cubic feet per second, a surge that’s generally maintained for two hours. In some areas, the rate of the river rise can exceed two feet per hour.
The final pulse release of 2018 is scheduled for Oct. 17.