The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has a boat ramp and public access for fishing at the third dike, where warm water that has completed the required cooling process enters Lake Anna On the south side of Lake Anna, the portion used to cool warm water is used by waterfront property owners and Dominion employees - but that part of the lake has no access points or marinas open to the general public Source: Library of Congress, A map of the state of Virginia, constructed in conformity to law from the late surveys authorized by the legislature and other original and authentic documents (1859)ĭominion's North Anna nuclear power plant discharges warm water into Lake Anna through the third dike, next to the dam When Virginia Electric and Power Company constructed a dam on the North Anna River in 1972 (site circled in red) and created Lake Anna, the confluence of the river's two forks was drowned Lake Anna, on the North Anna River in the York River watershed Source: Virginia Department of Health, Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Map 2020 In August 2020, a swimming advisory (red area) was again issued due to harmful algal blooms 3ĭams, Lakes and Reservoirs in Virginia Electricity in Virginia High-Level Radioactive Waste in Virginia North Anna Power Station Health advisories recommending people to avoid contact with some part of the lake were issued for four years in a row between 2018-2021. The amount of cyanobacteria (once known as "blue-green algae") exceeded exceed safe levels for swimming or even paddleboarding. In 2020, a health advisory was issued for the Middle Pamunkey Branch of Lake Anna, the Upper Pamunkey Branch, Terry's Run, and the Upper North Anna Branch. Source: Virginia Department of Health, Algal Bloom Surveillance Map In August 2019, multiple parts of Lake Anna experienced algal blooms (red = area under swimming advisory) The discharge from the nuclear plant is thought to minimize the blooms because it creates a current, mixing water from different levels in the lake and diluting the nutrients. The blooms in Lake Anna occur in the coves, where shallow water gets warmest and circulation is minimal. The Virginia Department of Health issues swimming advisories where it has identified potentially harmful levels of cyanobacteria in the water, which can create irritating compounds or toxins. The lake traps nutrients that wash off farm fields and homeowner lawns in its watershed, and experiences algal blooms in the warm months. In the cooling process, that water has never passed through the nuclear reactors at the North Anna Power Station. The "hot" refers to just the temperature of the water there is no additional radioactivity in it. Discharge into the lake creates a "hot side" on the southern edge of Lake Anna. Water entering the lake on the south side has been heated in the Lake Anna nuclear power plant, as it cools the team boilers that generate electricity. Carp populations are declining, and most are adults over three feet long now. Enough carp have escaped into the main lake to reduce the Hydrilla problem there as well. It introduced triploid (sterile) grass carp, which graze on the aquatic plant. The electric utility used a biological approach to reduce the Hydrilla within its Waste Heat Treatment Facility ponds. The non-native plant Hydrilla vertricillata became a problem in the 1980's, clogging boat motors and affecting the efficiency of the cooling system at the power plant. The dam that created the reservoir blocked the South Anna River, west of Interstate 95. ![]() The lake was created to provide cooling water for the nuclear power plant constructed by the Virginia Electric Power Company (VEPCO), now known as Dominion Energy. Portions of it are located in Louisa, Orange, and Spotsylvania counties. Lake Anna is a 9,600-acre artificial reservoir that filled in 1972. Lake Anna was created in 1971 by damming the South Anna River
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