Recovery of Cheat Lake
By Frank Jernejcic and Dave Wellman A Success Story
For most people, their first and only view of Cheat Lake occurs while crossing the Interstate 68 bridge east of Morgantown. Most interstate travelers do not realize that the majority of the picturesque lake’s 1,730 acres lie out of sight north of the bridge. Only four other lakes in the Mountain State are larger. The maximum depth is about 90 feet near the dam, while the depth under the I-68 bridge is eight to 20 feet.
Historically, water quality throughout the Cheat River watershed has been negatively impacted by acid mine drainage (AMD) and Cheat Lake has served as a catch basin for highly acidic water. Cheat Lake is recovering from 80 years of AMD impacts, and anglers are experiencing the rebirth of a fishery. Acid mine pollution has reduced the productivity of the lake and its fish populations ever since this man-made impoundment was created. Various fishery surveys in the lake throughout the years revealed a meager fish population characteristic of waters severely impacted by AMD. As a result, biologists did not attempt fishery management activities in the lake until the early 1990s.
Concerned citizens formed The Friends of the Cheat (FOC) watershed group in the spring of 1994 in response to a significant AMD blowout from an underground coal mine that had been closed recently. The founders immediately recognized that the scope of the AMD problem in the watershed extended far beyond this single catastrophe, and that all available resources would need to be coordinated to achieve a solution. Consequently, their efforts led to the formation in 1995 of the River of Promise (ROP) task force composed of local, state and federal government agencies, private industry, academia, and conservation organizations. Meeting quarterly and chaired by FOC members, the ROP task force initiates, monitors and coordinates AMD remediation projects throughout the watershed.
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Unfortunately, events in May 2009, and to a lesser extent in November 2009, illustrate Cheat Lake’s continued vulnerability to AMD inflows. The pH throughout Cheat Lake fell below 6.0 while Cheat River entering the lake experienced pH values less than 6.0 for almost the entire month of May. The pH depressions indicated that acid sources from mine drainage and/or acid precipitation still negatively impact Cheat Lake. Fortunately, no dead fish were observed during these events, nor was fishing obviously affected.
The lake’s large volume of good quality water was able to dilute the lower quality inflow during those events. The continued recovery of Cheat Lake fish populations and the development of a new tailwater fishery are dependent upon the maintenance of good water quality in the lake. The recent water quality improvements are related to a reduction of acid mine drainage entering the lake. The cause of such a reduction has not been documented, so it is not certain if the situation is permanent. Fish populations and water quality will be monitored in the lake and in the Cheat River above and below the lake to determine the future of fishing in these waters. West Virginia’s anglers are optimistic that the future of fishing in Cheat Lake will remain positive.
Frank Jernejcic is the District Fisheries Biologist and Dave Wellman is the Assistant District Fisheries Biologist stationed in the WV-DNR Farmington office.
SOURCE: http://www.wvdnr.gov/wildlife/magazine/archive/11Spring/Recovery%20of%20Chea...