Tennessee Valley Authority engineers say water temperature tests being performed on Wheeler Lake this week could improve efficiency at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant and keep power rates from increasing.
The Decatur Daily reports that a team of TVA engineers is collecting water temperature and velocity information from the lake to use in computer forecasting models, which can help run TVA's dams and nuclear plants more efficiently.
TVA spokesman Scott Fiedler says this week's study includes 31 three-dimensional scanners placed in the lake at strategic points to take water temperature and velocity measurements at various depths.
Project manager Keith Davis says the complications stem from the lake's broad width near the nuclear plant. He said that during the summer the area experiences low water flow because Guntersville Dam is holding back water to maintain reservoir levels upstream.
