Hydropower in Virginia

Byllesby Dam is one of the hydroelectric facilities operated by American Electric Power on the New River
Byllesby Dam is one of the hydroelectric facilities operated by American Electric Power on the New River

Moving water has been used to supply energy to process food, for transportation, to power mills/iron furnaces/mills/other industrial facilities, and to generate electricity.

Native Americans used the power of moving water in streams to leach the tannins out of acorns. The harsh bitterness of the tannins is a natural deterrent created by oak trees so more acorns would survive intact and produce new trees, rather than feed wildlife. The first human residents in Virginia cracked open acorns and placed them in a small riffle or below where water flowed over a rock, converting the acorns into an edible source of protein.

Native Americans and early European colonists took advantage of river currents to move canoes and sailing ships downstream. Unless there was some urgency, trips were timed to take advantage of the twice-daily tides, moving ships upstream with less effort. Though water has facilitated food production and transportation for thousands of years, "hydropower" normally refers to the use of the use of the energy of falling water to turn a wheel, lift a saw, squeeze a bellows, or spin a turbine.

A dozen years after arriving at Jamestown, the English colonists stated building an ironworks at Falling Creek. The mechanical energy of the water dropping over the Fall Line was sufficient to power the bellows at the first iron blast furnace in North America. The first hydropower plant in Virginia was part of an industrial operation to smelt iron.1

Other colonists on the Coastal Plain used falling water to power mills that ground wheat/corn into flour. Dams across streams trapped water, which was then directed from the pond through a ditch (mill race) to the water wheel. The water dropped from the end of the mill race and spun wheels. Mills designed with undershot wheels directed the water flow at the bottom of the wheel. At the more-common overshot wheels, water dropped into buckets on the top of the wheel.

overshot water wheels required topographic relief, with water transferring energy as it dropped from a height
overshot water wheels required topographic relief, with water transferring energy as it dropped from a height
Source: Library of Congress, Valentine's Mill, Louisa County, Virginia (by Frances Benjamin Johnston, 1935)

A 10-foot high overshot wheels required a 12-foot difference in elevation, so the spin of the wheel would not be hindered by obstructions. The mill race was located a foot above the top of the wheel, and the bottom of the wheel was a foot above the stream.

Using water to grind grain was not a new technique; it had been used by the Greeks 2,000 years ago.2

abandoned Shenandoah Valley gristmill with inoperable water wheel, in 1941
abandoned Shenandoah Valley gristmill with inoperable water wheel, in 1941
Source: Library of Congress, Scenes of the northern Shenandoah Valley, including the Resettlement Administration's Shenandoah Homesteads (by Ben Shahn, 1941)

Waterpower also powered sawmills. Gears and belts transferred the energy of the falling water to move metal saws up and down, cutting logs into lumber.

When settlement extended upstream across the Fall Line, the greater topographical relief offered far more opportunities to generate energy. Water-powered mills were common, including private mills that met the needs of just one landowner/family and large merchant mills that serviced the local community.

Few mills have survived on the Coastal Plain, but many of the old millponds remain. For example, colonial settlers dammed Cat Point Creek to create Chandler's Millpond in 1670. The dam was maintained until September 1993, when a heavy rainstorm caused the dam to break. When it was rebuilt, a fish ladder was included to allow anadromous fish to get past the barrier and spawn.3

Chandler's Mill Pond, near Montross in Westmoreland County, was first built in 1670
Chandler's Mill Pond, near Montross in Westmoreland County, was first built in 1670
Source: ESRI, ArcGIS Online

Water in the Haxalls Canal in Richmond powered massive flour mills in Richmond. moving grain within the mills and spinning the grindstones and rollers that converted wheat/corn into flour. Those mills also depended upon water in canals built for transportation by diverting water from the turning basin of the James River and Kanawha Canal to the mills.

The Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond used water from the James River and Kanawha Canal to turn the turbines at the industrial complex. The energy was transmitted by leather belts throughout the factory to shape metal to manufacture iron rails, locomotives, equipment for sugar mills in the Caribbean, and cannon for the Confederacy.4

In Fredericksburg, the Fredericksburg Water Power Company re-purposed the unprofitable canal system constructed by the Rappahannock Navigation Company. The system generated 5,000 horsepower prior to the Civil War. After building the Embrey Dam in 1909, the power company could supply 8,000 horsepower to customers.5

mill races carried water from the James River and Kanawha Canal to power equipment at the Tredegar Iron Works
mill races carried water from the James River and Kanawha Canal to power equipment at the Tredegar Iron Works
Source: Library of Congress, Illustrated atlas of the city of Richmond, VA (1877)

The first hydropower operation to generate electricity powered a single light bulb in England in 1878. The first hydroelectric power plant used the Fox River in in Appleton, Wisconsin to start producing power for a paper mill on September 30, 1882.

The Ames hydro plant at Telluride, Colorado opened in 1891 and still operates there today, using much of the original equipment. The construction of a e 3.5-megawatt power plant was justified by the need to supply energy to the Gold King mine at 12,000 feet in elevation. Transmitting electricity by wire was more cost-effective than hauling coal up the mountain on the backs of burros.

That project helped George Westinghouse win the "war of the currents" with electricity distributed via alternating rather than direct current, and led to the Niagara Falls hydropower project. Another alternating current facility opened in 1893 at the Redlands Power Plant in California.

Construction of hydroelectric dams still continues. In 2015, there were plans to build 3,700 more major dams to increase worldwide production of hydroelectric power by over 70%. "Major" dams were those with the capacity to generate at least 1 MW of electricity.6

Electricity is generated at dams by converting the mechanical energy in falling water by spinning magnets inside a turbine lined with copper cables. Unlike electricity generated at facilities fueled by coal or natural gas, hydropower is "renewable." Rain falling in the watershed upstream will provide a new supply of water to spin the magnets.

dams raise water levels, increasing the potential energy before water flows through a turbine to generate electricity
dams raise water levels, increasing the potential energy before water flows through a turbine to generate electricity
Source: Department of Energy, How Hydropower Works

A "run of the river" turbine can be used to generate hydropower without a dam. A rural home might get enough electricity from a Pelton wheel in a stream, but during droughts and winter freezes the supply would be interrupted. Utilities have built dams across rivers to create reservoirs that stockpile water, just as millers built dams to ensure they had the water to operate flour mills when desired. Dams raise the water level and increase the potential energy to be derived from falling water, and reservoirs store that potential energy the way batteries store chemical energy.

hydropower facilities generate electricity by using the energy of falling water to spin a turbine, which then spins a magnet inside coils of copper wires at a generator
hydropower facilities generate electricity by using the energy of falling water to spin a turbine, which then spins a magnet inside coils of copper wires at a generator
Source: Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, 2014 Virginia Energy Plan (Figure 4-5, originally from Tennessee Valley Authority)

In the 1800's and early 1900's, industries built dams to power textile mills and other facilities. Turbines to generate electricity were added to several of those industrial dams, especially on the Shenandoah River and New River.

In 1906, the Niagara Dam on the Roanoke River began to produce electricity. It is the smallest of the hydroelectric plants still operated by American Electric Power, but useful enough to be reconditioned in 1997. Today, the two turbines each generate 1.2MW (megawatts) of electricity.7

In 1908, the 700-foot long, 43-foot high concrete Emporia Dam was built across the Meherrin River by the Greenville Water Power Company. It was located just upstream of the town of Emporia, and provided both water and hydropower for the town. The powerhouse as constructed as a part of the dam, with a 3-foot thick floor designed less to support the machinery and more to resist uplift from the water.

the Emporia Dam powerhouse was built as part of the dam in 1910
the Emporia Dam powerhouse was built as part of the dam in 1910
Source: The Engineering Record, Building Record and Sanitary Engineer, The Hydroelectric Development at Emporia, Virginia (p.620)

By 1934, silt had filled most of the basin behind the dam, but flow through the turbines still generated electricity until 1966. By 1978 the hydropower facilities had been abandoned.

the hydropower facilities at Emporia Dam powerhouse were not functional in 1978
the hydropower facilities at Emporia Dam powerhouse were not functional in 1978
Source: US Army Corps of Engineers, Phase I Inspection Report, National Dam Safety Program, Meherrin River Dam At Emporia (p.4)

They were refurbished, and today the two turbines can generate 2.3MW of electricity for Kruger Energy. The company sells the electricity to Dominion.8

the Emporia Dam hydropower project was built on the Meherrin River in 1910
the Emporia Dam hydropower project was built on the Meherrin River in 1910
Source: US Geological Survey (USGS), Emporia VA 1:62,500 quadrangle map (1919)

After the Great Depression, investor-owned utilities and the US Army Corps of Engineers built major new dams designed to generate electricity.

In 1939 American Electric Power completed the dam that created Claytor Lake on the New River. In 1966, the same private utility created Smith Mountain Lake on the Roanoke River, creating the second-largest reservoir in Virginia.

Dominion Energy, then known as Virginia Electric and Power Company, built Lake Gaston in 1963. The four generators there were capable of producing a total of 220MW (megawatts).9

the availability of electricity from Claytor Dam on the New River helped shape the decision to locate an arsenal at Radford before World War II
the availability of electricity from Claytor Dam on the New River helped shape the decision to locate an arsenal at Radford before World War II
Source: Boston Public Library, Clayton Dam, near Pulaski, Va

The Federal government completed two major hydropower projects in Virginia in 1953. The Corps of Engineers built John H. Kerr Dam on the Roanoke River, including seven generators that can produce 227MW of electricity. Counting the acreage in North Carolina, the reservoir (known in Virginia as Buggs Island Lake) is the state's largest.10

electricity generated in North Carolina by water from Virginia is carried to Virginia customers by transmission lines with different voltages
electricity generated in North Carolina by water from Virginia is carried to Virginia customers by transmission lines with different voltages
Source: Homeland Infrastructure Foundation-Level Data (HIFLD), Electric Power Transmission Lines

Though the Corps completed Philpott Dam on the Smith River in 1951, the powerhouse became operational only in 1953. The primary justifications for Philpott Dam were expected benefits from flood control and recreation, but the three generators produce 1.4MW of electricity.11

Those two Corps of Engineers projects were justified in large part by their flood control benefits. The last attempt by the Corps of Engineers to build a major dam in Virginia, the Salem Church Dam on the Rappahannock River five miles upstream of Fredericksburg, included no plans for hydropower. In the benefit/cost calculations, all benefits were based on supposed enhancements for recreation, dilution of pollution to improve water quality, management of freshwater flows to increase oyster production downstream, and flood control.12

The Corps completed the John W. Flannagan Dam on the Pound River in 1964, and the Gathright Dam on the Jackson River in 1979. Both projects were justified primarily by flood control benefits. Though production of electricity was an authorized use at Gathright Dam, no facilities were constructed there by the Federal government.

In 2012, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved proposals by private companies to add modules to both dams that would generate electricity. At Gathright Dam, a turbine located at the discharge outlet, and designed to be moved when the dam released pulses of water to simulate natural high water flows. That turbine was projected to generate 3.7MW of electricity.

In 2014, the US Department of Agriculture provided a $1,125,000 loan for the developer of the 3MW Flannagan Dam hydroelectric capability, as part of the Rural Energy for America Program.

Access to Federal subsidies, including a production tax credit, led a private developer to purchase the Reusens Dam from Appalachian Power in 2017. In 2011 the large utility had stopped using the 12.5MW hydroelectric facility on the James River, built originally in 1903.13

the Reusens hydropower facility, on the James River upstream of Lynchburg

the Reusens hydropower facility, on the James River upstream of Lynchburg

the Reusens hydropower facility, on the James River upstream of Lynchburg
the Reusens hydropower facility, on the James River upstream of Lynchburg
Source: ESRI, ArcGIS Online

In the 1960's, sensitivity towards the environment changed. Passage of the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) in 1970 required assessments of the impacts from damming free-flowing rivers, and the remaining sites for big projects had low or negative benefit-cost ratios once cultural and environmental impacts were considered.

in contrast to coal and natural gas, the  percentage of electricity generated in Virginia by hydropower did not change after 2008
in contrast to coal and natural gas, the percentage of electricity generated in Virginia by hydropower did not change after 2008
Source: Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy, Virginia Energy Plan (2014)

What is now the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) licenses hydropower dams owned by non-Federal organizations, including municipal governments such as the City of Radford. The smallest three of the licensed projects can produce less than 1MW (1,000 kilowatts), while the largest three can generate over 100MW:14

in 2017, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission managed 22 active licenses for non-Federal hydropower projects in Virginia
in 2017, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission managed 22 active licenses for non-Federal hydropower projects in Virginia
Source: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Diagram of a Pumped Storage Project

Hydropower is a renewable energy source in Virginia, which receives over 40" of rain annually to resupply reservoirs. Because it is no longer feasible to build large hydropower projects in Virginia or other states, the opportunities to expand that source of renewable energy are limited.

new wind and solar facilities are generating more electricity nationwide, but generation at hydropower plants is not increasing because no new dams are being constructed
new wind and solar facilities are generating more electricity nationwide, but generation at hydropower plants is not increasing because no new dams are being constructed
Source: US Department of Energy, 2015 Renewable Energy Data Book (U.S. Renewable Electricity Generation by Technology)

The Federal government operates two hydropower dams in Virginia. The US Army Corps of Engineers built both John H. Kerr and Philpott dams. The Gathright Dam, also built by the Corps, was not designed to generate electricity.

The National Inventory of Dams says there are 2919 dams in Virginia, and the primary purpose of 45 of those is hydropower. Many of those dams, such as the Fairfax Water dam on the Occoquan River, no longer generate electricity.15

According to the 2014 Virginia Energy Plan:16

Virginia is home to 24 conventional hydropower facilities with a combined capacity of 439 megawatts, and two pumped storage facilities with a combined capacity of 3659 megawatts.

The greatest potential is to create another pumped storage facility, similar to the projects in Bath County and at Smith Mountain. Pumped storage projects consume more electricity than they generate, but are massive batteries able to provide power at times of peak demand. The General Assembly passed legislation in 2017 to incentivize utilities to build a pumped storage project in the coalfields region of Virginia, and Dominion Energy selected two sites for further study later that year.17

hydropower is the primary purpose of very few dams in Virginia
hydropower is the primary purpose of very few dams in Virginia
Source: US Army Corps of Engineers, National Inventory of Dams

Some hydropower dams divert water from the stream, pipe it through a turbine, and then return the water to the stream at some point further downstream. Directly below the diversion dam, the water flow is reduced. The Virginia Department of Water Quality issues permits for withdrawals from tidal waters and for withdrawals that exceed 10,000 gallons per day from non-tidal waters, if the withdrawal started or increased after 1989. There are multiple exemptions to the requirement to obtain a permit, including:18

Surface water withdrawals that return withdrawn water to the stream of origin; do not divert more than half of the instantaneous flow of the stream; have the withdrawal point and the return point not separated by more than 1,000 feet of stream channel; and have both banks of the affected stream segment located within one property boundary.

The state agency reacted in 2017, when a hydroelectric power generating facility on Falling Springs Creek withdrew all of the water from the stream. The facility used twin 24-inch pipes to transport water to a power generation house over one mile downstream and 390 feet in elevation below the withdrawal intake, producing about 500kw of electricity.

The hydropower plant, downstream from the waterfall that gives Falling Springs Creek its name, dated back to 1910. Between 2007-2012, a culvert had been removed and other changes made to increase the amount of water diverted from the stream. In 2016 the Virginia Department of Water Quality offered conditional authority to Hydro-FS LLC to operate while the facility obtained a permit, but the owners chose not to sign the Letter of Authorization.

After receiving a citizen complaint in 2017, the state agency discovered that so much water was being diverted that the streambed was dry below the dam and fish were being killed. The Virginia Department of Water Quality issued a Notice of Violation, to protect the state's aquatic resources.

The owners of the hydropower facility agreed to cease operations, welding plates on the heads of the 24-inch pipes to prevent water diversion. A company official commented:19

I realized I was not going to win against DEQ.

Fish Passage and Dam Removal

Lakes, Dams, and Reservoirs in Virginia

Generating Electricity By "Pumped Storage" in Virginia

Smith Mountain Lake

Poplar Grove Tide Mill

Pumped Storage in Bath County

Lake Gaston and Virginia Beach's Drinking Water

Hydro-FS LLC diverted too much water from Falling Springs Creek in Alleghany County, killing aquatic life and violating its permit from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
Hydro-FS LLC diverted too much water from Falling Springs Creek in Alleghany County, killing aquatic life and violating its permit from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
Source: Google Maps

Links

Virginia has multiple sites with theoretical potential for small hydropower projects
Virginia has multiple sites with theoretical potential for small hydropower projects
Source: US Department of Energy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Renewable Energy Atlas

References

1. "The Works at Falling Creek," Colonial Williamsburg Journal, Autumn 2007, http://www.history.org/foundation/journal/autumn07/iron.cfm; "What is Falling Creek?," Falling Creek Ironworks Foundation, http://www.fallingcreekironworks.org/whatfc.html (last checked May 16, 2017)
2. "History of Hydropower," US Department of Energy, https://energy.gov/eere/water/history-hydropower (last checked May 3, 2017)
3. "Chandler's Mill Pond," Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, https://www.dgif.virginia.gov/waterbody/chandlers-mill-pond/ (last checked August 8, 2016)
4. "Tredegar Iron Works," National Park Service, (last checked May 18, 2017)
5. "Walk Through History...Mill Sites and Water Power," LibraryPoint, Central Rappahannock Regional Library, http://www.librarypoint.org/walk_through_history_mill_sites_and_water_power (last checked August 8, 2016)
6. "A brief history of hydropower," International Hydropower Association, https://www.hydropower.org/p/discover-history-of-hydropower; "America's Story - The Gilded Age (1878-1889)," Library of Congress, http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/gilded/jb_gilded_hydro_1.html; "Ames and Smuggler-Union Power Plants at Telluride," Edison Tech Center, https://edisontechcenter.org/Telluride.html; "History of Hydropower," US Department of Energy, https://www.energy.gov/eere/water/history-hydropower; Christiane Zarfl, Alexander E. Lumsdon, Jurgen Berlekamp, Laura Tydecks, Klement Tockner, "A global boom in hydropower dam construction," Aquatic Sciences, Volume 77 (2015), https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-014-0377-0 (last checked February 10, 2022)
7. "WOYM: No plans afoot to remove Niagara Dam on Roanoke River," The Roanoke Times, June 14, 2015, http://www.roanoke.com/news/woym-no-plans-afoot-to-remove-niagara-dam-on-roanoke/article_befbca0a-b745-5f1d-9365-a5bf6920fdc2.html (last checked May 18, 2017)
8. "The Hydroelectric Development at Emporia, Virginia," The Engineering Record, Building Record and Sanitary Engineer, Volume 62, Number 22 (1910), p.620, https://books.google.com/books?id=vuA1AQAAMAAJ; "Power Plants," Kruger Energy, https://energy.kruger.com/powerplants/; Henry M. Eakin, "Silting of Reservoirs," US Department of Agriculture Technical Bulletin No. 524, Government Printing Office, July 1936, pp.101-103, ; "Phase I Inspection Report, National Dam Safety Program, Meherrin River Dam At Emporia," US Army Corps of Engineers, August 1978, p.8, https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a063638.pdf (last checked January 13, 2019)
9. "About Claytor Hydro," American Electric Power, http://www.claytorhydro.com/about/; "Smith Mountain Lake," Virginia Is For Lovers, Virginia Tourism Corporation, https://www.virginia.org/smithmountainlake/; "Gaston Dam - Lake & Dam History," Gaston Lake Guide, http://www.lakegastonguide.com/?q=node/26 (last checked May 18, 2017)
10. "John H. Kerr - Hydropower," US Army Corps of Engineers, http://www.saw.usace.army.mil/Locations/District-Lakes-and-Dams/John-H-Kerr/Hydropower/; "Buggs Island Lake (John H. Kerr Reservoir)," Virginia Is For Lovers, Virginia Tourism Corporation, https://www.virginia.org/Listings/OutdoorsAndSports/BuggsIslandLakeJohnHKerrReservoir (last checked May 18, 2017)
11. "Philpott - Hydropower," US Army Corps of Engineers, http://www.saw.usace.army.mil/Locations/District-Lakes-and-Dams/Philpott/Hydropower/ (last checked May 18, 2017)
12. "U.S. Scraps Salem Church Dam Plan: Corps of Engineers Scraps Plan for Salem Church Dam," Washington Post, October 4, 1974, p.A1; "Salem Church Dam Is an Undying Symbol," Free Lance-Star, February 6, 1986, https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=19860206&id=tOBLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nYsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2793,1061501&hl=en (last checked May 18, 2017)
13. "John W. Flannagan Dam & Reservoir," US Army Corps of Engineers, http://www.lrh.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Recreation/Virginia/John-W-Flannagan-Dam-Reservoir/; "Gathright Dam and Lake Moomaw," US Army Corps of Engineers, http://www.nao.usace.army.mil/About/Projects/Gathright-Moomaw/; "Environmental Assessment, Gathright Dam Low Flow Augmentation Project - Alleghany County, Virginia," US Army Corps of Engineers, December 2012, p.43, http://www.nao.usace.army.mil/Portals/31/docs/regulatory/publicnotices/2012/Dec/GathrightDamLowFlowAugmentation_EA.pdf; "Hydroelectricity Is Coming To Lake Moomaw," Allegheny Mountain Radio, April 4, 2012, http://www.alleghenymountainradio.org/hydroelectricity-is-coming-to-lake-moomaw/; "U.S. lends $1.125 million for 1.8-MW Flannagan hydro project," Hydro Review, September 23, 2014, http://www.hydroworld.com/articles/2014/09/u-s-lends-1-125-million-for-1-8-mw-flannagan-hydro-project.html; "Reusing the Reusens Hydro Dam: A Tax-Driven Deal?," Bacon's Rebellion blog, May 2, 2017, http://baconsrebellion.com/reusens/ (last checked May 18, 2017)
14. "Active Licenses since 2007," Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 2017, https://www.ferc.gov/industries/hydropower/gen-info/licensing/active-licenses.asp (last checked May 16, 2017)
15. National Inventory of Dams, US Army Corps of Engineers, http://nid.usace.army.mil/cm_apex/f?p=838:3:0::NO::P3_STATES:VA; "Occoquan Dam Hydropower License Surrender Fact Sheet," Fairfax Water, https://www.fcwa.org/current/ferc_surrender.htm (last checked August 22, 2017)
16. "2014 Virginia Energy Plan," Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, Section 4 - 18, https://www.dmme.virginia.gov/DE/LinkDocuments/2014_VirginiaEnergyPlan/10Section4Renewables.pdf (last checked August 22, 2017)
17. "Dominion Energy considering two coalfield sites for pumped storage facility," The Roanoke Times, September 7, 2017, http://www.roanoke.com/news/virginia/dominion-energy-considering-two-coalfield-sites-for-pumped-storage-facility/article_b86c3bec-5a34-5825-a0b9-a7c094a64900.html; "Dominion Energy Pursues Sites for Pumped Hydroelectric Storage Facility in Coalfield Region," Dominion Energy, September 7, 2017, http://dominionenergy.mediaroom.com/2017-09-07-Dominion-Energy-Pursues-Sites-for-Pumped-Hydroelectric-Storage-Facility-in-Coalfield-Region (last checked September 9, 2017)
18. "Surface Water Withdrawal Permitting and Fees," Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, http://www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/Water/WaterSupplyWaterQuantity/WaterWithdrawalPermittingandCompliance/SurfaceWaterWithdrawalPermittingandFees.aspx; "9VAC25-210-310. Exclusions from Permits for Surface Water Withdrawals," Virginia Administrative Code, https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title9/agency25/chapter210/section310/ (last checked October 3, 2017)
19. "Power plant that caused Falling Spring Creek to run dry shut down by regulators," The Roanoke Times, October 3, 2017, http://www.roanoke.com/news/virginia/power-plant-that-caused-falling-spring-creek-to-run-dry/article_ae612eb4-e336-586a-98a8-6c694ed60dbd.html; "State Water Control Board Enforcement Action - Order By Consent Issued To Hydro-FS, LLC For Falling Spring Hydroelectric Facility," Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, September 27, 2017, http://www.deq.virginia.gov/Portals/0/DEQ/Enforcement/SignedConsentPN/HydroPN.pdf?ver=2017-09-27-090400-050 (last checked October 3, 2017)

City of Radford operates a 1MW hydroelectric plant on the Little River discharge after spinning the turbine
Little River reservoir the tiny Little River reservoir limits hydropower production
water from the Little River reservoir spins the turbine, then is discharged back into the Little River at the City of Radford's 1MW hydroelectric plant


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