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Fish consumption advisory issued for Normandy Reservoir in Coffee Co.
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) today announced a precautionary fish consumption advisory due to mercury on Normandy Reservoir on the Duck River in Bedford and Coffee counties.
In a 2006 statewide screening of Tennessee rivers and lakes, Normandy Reservoir was identified as a waterbody where mercury levels in fish were elevated, but not over the trigger used to issue advisories. Today’s action, which is the result of additional studies by TDEC and the Tennessee Valley Authority, is for black bass species in the entirety of the reservoir.
TDEC advises that pregnant or nursing mothers and children avoid eating the fish species included in the advisory and that all others limit consumption to one meal per month. Other recreational activities such as boating, swimming, wading, and catch-and-release fishing carry no risk.
Randall Braker, General Manger of the Duck River Utility Commission, told Thunder Radio News that customers can rest assured that area drinking water is safe.
“The duck river utility commission has been monitoring drinking water on a regular schedule for 25 years and we have not had a single detection of mercury in the water,” Braker said, adding that “you can rest assured that drinking water is of exceptional quality.”
“We provide these advisories so the community can make informed decisions about whether or not to consume the fish they catch,” TDEC Deputy Commissioner Greg Young said. “Unlike ‘do not consume’ advisories that warn the general population to avoid eating fish from a particular body of water altogether, precautionary fish consumption advisories are specifically directed to sensitive populations such as children, pregnant women, nursing mothers and those who may eat fish frequently from the same body of water.”
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) collected fish in Normandy Reservoir in 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2016. TVA’s fish tissue monitoring station is located at river mile 249.5 in the lake forebay near the dam.
In 2012 and 2013, the department collected fish at the forebay station and in 2013, additionally sampled at the Manchester/Tullahoma water intake at mile 255.1.
These studies documented that in black bass species – which include smallmouth, largemouth and spotted bass – mercury levels were above the trigger currently used by the department. This trigger, 0.3 mg/kg (parts per million), was jointly recommended by both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
TDEC considers the source of mercury in Normandy Reservoir to be atmospheric deposition. According to the EPA, atmospheric deposition due to the global burning of coal is the most frequent reason for elevated levels of mercury in fish.
TDEC will post warning signs at public access points and will work with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency to communicate this information to the public.
About Fish Consumption Advisories
The Tennessee Water Quality Control Act identifies the commissioner of the Department of Environment and Conservation as having the authority and responsibility to issue advisories for either water contact hazards like pathogens or excessive health risks due to the accumulation of contaminants in fish or shellfish. Tennessee’s General Water Quality Criteria provide additional guidance regarding the conditions under which advisories may be warranted.
There are two types of fish consumption advisories issued by TDEC based on the levels of contaminants present in fish tissue. “Do not consume” fishing advisories are issued when levels of contaminants in fish tissue would represent a threat to the general population. Precautionary advisories are issued when contaminant levels are lower, but would still pose a risk to sensitive populations such as children, pregnant women, nursing mothers and those who eat fish frequently from the same body of water.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, mercury is a naturally occurring element that can be found throughout the environment. Human activities have caused the amount of mercury in some areas to increase. The primary way people in the United States are exposed to mercury is by eating fish containing methylmercury, a toxic form of mercury that accumulates easily in organisms.
Where new advisories have been issued, TDEC will immediately begin the process of putting up signs at primary public access points. TDEC works in partnership with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency to communicate information about fishing advisories.
For a complete listing of Tennessee’s current fishing advisories plus additional information about the advisory issuance process, click here.
An EPA website has additional information about mercury can be found here.
Birthdays – 1/10/20
Aiden Stem – 5
Evenlyn Elkeio – 62
Kim Hill – 26
Nathan Jones
ANNIVERSARY
Jimmy & Becky Prince – 39 years
We give away a pizza daily and a cake weekly at Thunder Radio. Submit birthdays at 931-728-1320 or email wmsr@thunder1320.com.
Birthdays – 1/9/20
Kris Foster
Heather Duncan – PIZZA WINNER!
We give away a pizza daily and a cake weekly at Thunder Radio. Submit birthdays at 931-728-1320 or email wmsr@thunder1320.com.
Birthdays – 1/8/20
David Welborn – PIZZA WINNER!
Holly Hopper – CAKE WINNER!
We give away a pizza daily and a cake weekly at Thunder Radio. Submit birthdays at 931-728-1320 or email wmsr@thunder1320.com.
Limited damage during Saturday storms; lightning causes house fire
Coffee County was spared major storm damage Saturday, despite a large storm system that made its way through the south and prompted a tornado watch for the area that lasted most of the day.
According to TVA, Manchester did receive 1.37 inches of rain on Saturday. There were also reports of a window and screen blown off a home and a tree across the road on Hunt Street in Manchester and other various trees and limbs down in Manchester, and a lightning strike did cause a fire at a home in the Hunters Ridge area in Tullahoma.
According to Tullahoma Fire Department chief Richard Shasteen, when crews arrived at that home the fire was traveling across the peak of the roof on the inside. Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire with minor fire and water damage. The Manchester Fire Department was called to cover Tullahoma City Limits for backup.
According to Duck River Electric, around 1,800 members were without electricity with the hardest hit areas being Cowan, Sewanee and Lynchburg. Extra staff was called in to handle the outages.
Dobson receives VFW state teacher of the year award
James Dobson, who serves as an assistant principal at Westwood Middle School and is a member of the local VFW Post 10904 in Manchester, has won the VFW Department of TN State Teacher of the Year award. You may remember earlier in the school year Mr. Dobson was in the news for helping to coordinate and implement a purple heart parking area for wounded veterans at Westwood Middle School. Congratulations, James Dobson.
Lights going up at Manchester soccer fields
If you have driven by the Manchester Sports Park soccer fields recently you may have noticed some vertical construction – new LED lights are being installed, giving Manchester lighted recreation fields dedicated to soccer. The project should be complete by the end of the month (January).
Manchester officials approved to install lights back in the summer, along with restrooms, a total cost of over $670,000, with the city expected to cover $336,000 and the remainder coming from grant funding. C&H Commercial Contractors is the company installing the lights.
Vaughn named Coffee Co. Schools ‘person of the week’
Coffee County Schools has announced that its person of the week for this week is Alisha Vaughn, who is a school counselor at Deerfield Elementary.
According to the school system, Mrs. Vaughn ensures students social, emotional and physical needs are met to be successful. She also helps to manage the Deerfield Backpack Program and organizes the school’s Angel Tree program as well as the clothing closet. She has also been key to writing several grants for the school.
Manchester GO smartphone app now available to the community
Thunder Radio is excited to announce the brand new smartphone app called “Manchester GO”.
The new app, which is powered by Thunder Radio, is designed to be a one-stop source of information for everything Manchester constantly at your fingertips. Whether you need to know about an upcoming event, how to contribute to a local charity, need a phone number for a local restaurant, need to know who to contact about renting a picnic shelter at the park or just want to catch up on local news and sports, “Manchester GO” will have those answers in one place, at your fingertips.
“We are excited to offer this to our community,” said Josh Peterson, president of Thunder Radio. “As we roll this smartphone app out to the community, we welcome feedback and critiques so we can make adjustments and make it even better moving forward. The idea is to give everyone a product centered around community, whether it’s news they want or they want to quickly place an order at a local restaurant or need to find a tow for their car. We want that in one place.”
Manchester GO will even have exclusive coupons to redeem at local businesses. You can download the app starting today by clicking here on your apple or android smart device and it is free to download. After you download, we encourage you to register for prizes for an opportunity to win some Amazon Alexa Dots, Google Home Mini’s, Amazon TV Firesticks and local gift certificates.
Coffee County faces severe weather risk Saturday; tornado watch issued
UPDATE 12:45 P.M. SATURDAY — A new tornado watch that includes Coffee County has been issued until 8 p.m. Saturday
UPDATE AT 9:30 A.M. SATURDAY – A tornado watch that includes Coffee County has been issued until 1 p.m. Saturday
Most all of Middle Tennessee, including Coffee County, is under a “slight risk” of severe weather Saturday (Jan. 11), according to the National Weather Service office in Nashville.
A strong line of storms is approaching from the west has prompted a tornado watch that includes Coffee County and many other areas of the midstate until 8 p.m.
According to NWS, the main threat is winds and heavy rain. Isolated tornadoes are possible south of Interstate 40. NWS expects storms to reach the Coffee County area by approximately noon.
During severe weather, Thunder Radio will break into regular programming live at 107.9 FM, 106.7 FM, 1320 AM and streaming here.
