Appalachian Power has announced that it will hold its annual
capacity testing of generators at Leesville Dam on Thursday, July 13, beginning
at 3 p.m.
Although the testing is somewhat routine, it will have an
impact on areas downstream from Leesville. Appalachian doesn’t expect any
issues with the test.
As testing of the generators ramps up, there will be an
increased water flow downstream that peaks at the dam between 10 and 11 p.m.
Appalachian expects the maximum river levels at Altavista to
gradually increase by 8 feet, peaking at around 1 to 2 a.m. on Friday, July 14,
and then gradually decreasing to normal levels during the remainder of Friday.
As an example, if normal river levels remain where they were
on Tuesday, July 11 (3.6 feet or so), Altavista could expect to see the river
rise to a level of 11.6 feet early Friday morning before dropping back off as
the water dissipates.