Newsletter April 2026

QUARTERLY MEMBERS MEETING

Please join us April 11th at 10:30 for our next General Membership Meeting. The location will be the Altavista Train Station. Our guest speaker will be Michael Holiday our local dock builder here on Leesville Lake.  A light breakfast will be provided. 

From the President

Spring appears to have finally come. I’d prefer to not relive this past winter any time soon. The snow and cold temperatures are hopefully in our rearview mirror and warmer temperatures are ahead. With those warmer temperatures come opportunities to spend time enjoying our lake.   



Just yesterday I observed a fisherman on a boat in our cove in the midst of the pouring rain. He was undeterred by the weather and just happy to be back on the lake. Our lake has come a long way as a result of our combined efforts to keep it clean. Your efforts along with the Leesville Lake Association Board can ensure it stays that way. Please be good stewards of our precious resource. Working together we can maintain the aesthetic value and keep our lake safe to recreate on. 

This year we expect some changes on the lake. APCo will begin a new phase of cleanup operations on the lake that will focus efforts closer to the Pigg River, the primary source of debris on Leesville Lake. Unfortunately, the estimates for the Diversion Device APCo had discussed installing were several million dollars and it was determined to not be a good return on their investment by the APCo board. As an alternative they plan to add dumpsters, trucks and additional crew to move their cleanup efforts closer to the source of the debris on the lake. This aligns with what Pam and our debris committee have been requesting for many years. We are cautiously optimistic.

Our next quarterly general meeting will be on April 11^th at 10:30 with guest speakers from the new Capps in Altavista and Michael Holiday our dock builder here on Leesville Lake. We invite you and your neighbors to join us at the Altavista Train Station. 



Roy Kelley

Beautification Day

Prep your boats, front loaders, chainsaws, ropes and crews for our 2026 Leesville Lake Beautification Day. This year’s lake cleanup day will be Saturday June 13^th from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. So, mark your calendars, get your crew of volunteers ready and sign up at our website.  

For those who have participated in previous year’s Beautification Days, we thank you for your past support and ask for your continued support (both physically and financially) for our June 13^th, 2026 event.  

Each year we have successfully increased the total tonnage of debris removed when compared to the year before. For 2022 we pulled a total of 46.92 tons and in 2023 we increased that number to 52.87 tons and in 2024 and 2025 we increased that to over 55 tons. 



Please prepare your equipment / crew and get signed up early so we can get your volunteer T-shirt size. Let’s all do our part help keep Leesville Lake a safe and beautiful place for outdoor recreation. We look forward to seeing you on June 13^th. 

Roy Kelley

Beautification Day and Annual Picnic Info and Links

Our 2026 Leesville Lake Beautification Day will be Saturday June 13^th from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. We would be happy to add your name or your business to the list of sponsors on the back of our Beautification Day T-Shirts. To sponsor please go to the link (https://app.aplos.com/aws/give/leesvillelakeassociation/Beautification) to give online or download the form for mailing with a check.

We need you for Leesville Lake Beautification Day! Please mark your calendars and get your crew of volunteers ready to help clean up our lake on Saturday, June 13^th.  You’ll also get a free T-Shirt with Bob Rankin’s latest artwork on the front. To volunteer, please click on the link to provide us the details including T-shirt sizes. https://leesvillelake.org/beautification-day/beautification-day-registration/ .

Our 2026 Annual Picnic will be July 11^th and we need you to sign up early to ensure we have enough food and seats for everyone. As usual we ask all to bring a dessert to share, the rest will be provided. We look forward to seeing you then and ask you to RSVP at the link https://leesvillelake.org/annual-meeting-and-picnic/

TREASURER’S REPORT 



As we close out winter and welcome spring, our finances remain strong. Quite a few of us have new stories to share after the snow, sleet, ice and freezing weather took their toll. Before long, we will be out cleaning up the lake. Last year, we lost a few sponsors for Beautification Day. If you find a business who would be willing to sponsor, send them to https://leesvillelake.org there’s information under News & Events. We are also still accepting donations for the Search and Rescue Graphing Sonar to help with incidents on the lake. Have fun out there, and remember to be safe. If you have questions or need information from the treasurer about your donations, please drop me a note at treasurer@leesvillelake.org.

Edwin Hanson

DEBRIS COMMITTEE



As we move into spring, the Leesville Lake Association Debris Committee is preparing for another active season on the water and continuing our ongoing work with Appalachian Power.

We recently submitted our comments on the 2025 annual FERC debris management report. Appalachian Power is expected to file the final report in early April. Once it is filed, we will make it available on the LLA website for members who wish to review it.

Within the draft 2025 FERC report, Appalachian Power noted that they are not pursuing the Pigg River debris collection device. The report also referenced use of the Myers Creek offload site; however, development of that site has not yet been completed. Both of these items are important to long-term debris management, particularly for the upper end of the lake. We look forward to discussing these topics in more detail at the annual Technical Review Meeting in late April, where we hope to gain clearer direction on Appalachian’s plans for managing debris above Mile Marker 10.

On the water, our committee survey efforts will resume in April. These monthly surveys are a key part of documenting debris conditions throughout the lake and ensuring that problem areas are consistently identified and communicated.

We also look forward to another year of working with Appalachian Power and their crews. Their presence on the lake is an important part of maintaining safe and navigable conditions. When you see crew members out working, please offer a friendly wave and extend courtesy as they carry out their work.

As our committee prepares for the upcoming season, we are also looking to welcome additional volunteers. Several long-time members, including myself and my husband Gary, will be stepping back in the future, and we would greatly value new members who are interested in helping with monthly surveys and ongoing efforts. It’s a rewarding way to stay involved and make a meaningful contribution to the lake community. If you are interested in joining the Debris Committee or would like more information, please reach out to us through the Leesville Lake Association.

As you begin spending more time on the lake this season, we encourage all members to report debris sightings whenever possible. Your observations play an important role in helping us track conditions and communicate effectively with Appalachian Power.

As always, we appreciate the continued support and engagement of our members as we work toward improving debris management across Leesville Lake.

Pam McMillan – Chair

Dave Rives

Sherrie Beard (Rick)

Rob Johnston

Roy Kelly (Teri)

Gary McMillan

Tom Gallagher

WATER QUALITY REPORT



Happy arrival of Spring! Leesville Lake Water Quality is good and will continue to support all your recreational needs this coming season.

APCo’s annual water quality report is in its final comment. Once published, we will post it on LLA Website. We are looking forward to APCo’s upcoming (April/May) submission of a Dissolved Oxygen (DO) Improvement Plan to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality for review and approval. APCo will develop a comprehensive plan, designed in consultation with VDEQ, the Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) and other state or federal agencies to address depressed DO levels downstream from Smith Mountain Lake Dam.

This plan is in accordance with APCo’s final Permit VWP number 24 1547 signed on July 7, 2025. The plan is to protect instream beneficial uses, to ensure compliance with applicable water quality standards, to prevent impairment of state waters or fish and wildlife resources, and to provide no net loss of wetland acreage and function through compensatory mitigation and success monitoring and reporting.

Have enjoyable lake time and family time as we transition into boating/swimming season!

Special thanks to the LLA WQ Committee

Debbie Oliver, Kathleen Giangi, Tony Capuco, Dave Waterman, and University of Lynchburg Limnologist Dr Tom Shahady for their hard work in keeping the lake’s water quality up to standard.

Charlie Hamilton, WQ Chair

Nominating Committee/Calendar Subcommittee

Happy Spring LLA Members!

The Nominating Committee is in search of members who may be interested in volunteering on our board. We have a couple of open Committee Chair positions and several committees which need additional members.

Openings include:

Beautification Day Chair

Debris Committee Chair (starts in September)

At-Large Board Members

The board meets monthly on the 2^nd Thursday in Altavista, where we discuss our beautiful lake and what can be done to make it even better! If interested, or for more information, please contact Don Schimming at don_schimming@leesvillelake.org or 540-717-2488. You can also speak with any current board member.

Calendar Subcommittee

Sale!!! The 2026 lake calendars are available for sale for $5 and can be ordered here: https://app.aplos.com/aws/give/LeesvilleLakeAssociation/Calendar Pick one up and enjoy the wonderful pictures submitted by our membership from all around our lake.

Remember, you can upload photos throughout the year so don’t miss sending in those beautiful pictures from around the lake for the 2027 calendar! Photo size should be at least 1MB and can be uploaded at https://leesvillelake.org/calendar-picture-upload/

Don Schimming Chair