October 2025 Newsletter

Table of Contents

Presidents Letter

Beautification Day Report

Treasurer’s Report

Membership Report

Safety and Education

Debris Committee

Water Quality Report

Nominating and Calendar Committee

Navigation Committee

Help Wanted

From the President

Roy Kelley 



Fall has arrived and activity around the lake has slowed, the leaves are changing and the temps are cooler. Once again, the beauty of this area is displayed in rich fall colors and breath-taking views of the lake, trees and surrounding mountains. If you haven’t taken the time for a boat ride or drive around the lake, you should do so soon and enjoy the views.

As noted in the summer letter, we said farewell to two of our board members, Mary Loiselle and Teri Thomas. We so appreciate their efforts over the years. We welcome Don Schimming to the board as he picks up where Teri left off as Chair for our Nominating Committee. Don will be a great addition.

We could still use additional volunteers for the association’s board. We also want to keep our general membership healthy and ask that you invite new neighbors or those that enjoy the lake but are not currently members to become members. It is a simple process on our Leesville Lake Association website.

There is news regarding the status of the Pigg River Diversion Device. We have had three meetings over the past few months with TLAC, APCo and twice with Congressman McGuire and / or his staff. The permit process was stopped by US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) as they requested a navigation study in and around where the Diversion Device was to be installed. Unfortunately, AEP did not provide the study within the requested 30 days, and the permit application was closed. On September 18, 2025 we were updated by Congressman McGuire’s office that USACE had numerous other suggestions for catching the debris, to include temporary devices, that would not require their permit. This resonated with APCo as they recently received the cost estimate for constructing the diversion device at $12-14 million. Congressman McGuire’s office is setting up further meetings to include USACE, LLA and APCo to discuss those options.

Our Fall General Membership Meeting will be at 10:30 on Saturday October 11, 2025 at the Altavista Train Station. Coffee, tea and hot cider will be provided along with some light breakfast foods. We will have updates on the many activities the LLA Board is involved with and have a guest speaker, Chief Daniels from the Hurt Fire Department. The Chief will discuss search and rescue efforts on our lake. With the unfortunate drowning that happened this past summer, this seemed an important topic to discuss. There will be door prizes and opportunities to buy calendars and T-shirts at the meeting.

We look forward to seeing you and a friend there.

Roy Kelley

Beautification Day

Roy Kelley

Again, many thanks to all who participated / financially supported the 2025 Leesville Lake Beautification Day. This year’s lake cleanup day was another big success as we still pulled a new record number of 55.19 tons of debris. For the volunteers that have not received their T-shirts, please request them at the Fall General Membership Meeting on October 11th .

As they do every year, we expect APCo to drop the lake level to low pond for a few weeks this fall. As of now we do not have exact dates, but typically see it in October. This is a great time to clean up your shorelines. Collect all the debris that will otherwise go right back into the lake and use it to burn on those cool fall evenings.

For planning purposes, please block off your calendars and ensure you’ve saved the date for the 2026 Leesville Lake Beautification Day… Saturday, June 13th.

Treasurer’s Report

Edwin Hanson



As we closed out the last fiscal year at the end of August, the Association continues in great health financially. Even though we didn’t bring in as much money as we planned, we also spent less than anticipated and finished the year with a positive gain. Once again, we saw several increases in costs for goods and services, but we continue to keep our expenses within budget. Due to our donations and Beautification Day sponsors, we are able to continue to offer membership at $25.00 per year. While membership renewals are fresh on my mind, I wanted to give everyone a heads up that next year we will start with an email campaign and only print and send invoices to members who do not have email or have not paid by the end of August. Leanne and I look forward to seeing you on 11 October at the meeting and around the lake this fall. Hopefully we will have plenty of color to admire over the coming months.

Edwin Hanson

Membership Report

Cynthia Coleman

Currently, Leesville Lake Association has 207 membership households. We’ve had to put about 40 memberships in the Inactive category as dues were not paid by August 30th, which is LLA’s cutoff date and the end of the fiscal year. These households are still considered Members and won’t be put on the Former Member List until the end of September. If you’re not sure if you’ve paid or not, please contact the Membership Chair at membership@leesvillelake.org.

Many people pay their dues at the Annual Picnic and those who can’t attend are sent an invoice. LLA wants its members to know and understand, you can pay your dues at any time. For the fiscal year, it’s best to pay between January and August. The invoices are important as well. It is on them that members can make changes to their addresses, phone numbers, and emails. Even if you paid and didn’t receive an invoice and you do have changes to make on your membership, you can do so by sending the Membership Chair an email, with those changes, at: membership@leesvillelake.org

Leesville Lake Association thanks all of its members for continuing to maintain their membership. Even though membership is only $25.00 a year, that money goes towards making our lake cleaner and safer, at our end of efforts. We greatly appreciate the support we receive. Leesville Lake is known as The Blue Jewel Near the Blue Ridge. Each member is a shining facet of this jewel!

Safety and Education Report

Jeff Markiewicz

 With the start of Fall the heat of summer is mostly behind us, but there are plenty of great days to be out on the water ahead before winter sets in. Be sure to bring warm clothes with you when boating. Water temperatures are dropping, and weather can change quickly. An unexpected fall in the water can more easily lead to hypothermia. Continued vigilance while on the water is always advised as debris may still be present, especially after rainfall and after water level increases.

The Water Safety Committee performed Vessel Safety Checks back on May 17th and July 12th and seven vessels were inspected this season. These checks are independent of Law Enforcement, conducted by local US Power Squadron vessel safety examiners. Not passing a Vessel Safety Check is not reported to DWR or any other law enforcement agency. If you would still like you boat checked reach out to the Safety committee by email at safety@leesvillelake.org to arrange a safety check.

Although Leesville is a safe lake to boat and swim on, we did have a young man drown in July near the Leesville Dam. He went underwater and could not be seen by family members who contacted 911 in Pittsylvania County. Swift Water rescue, Fire and Sheriff personnel responded and were able to recover the young man’s body hours later. At the Oct 11th General Membership meeting at 10:30 am at the AltaVista Train Station 414 Washington St, Chief Daniel of the Hurt Fire Department will be discussing the way the Fire Department responds to these types of calls.

Hoping you all get a chance to enjoy some time on the waters of Leesville Lake before the winter sets in and I Hope to see you on the water!

Jeff Markiewicz

Debris Committee

Pam McMillan



Fall is my favorite time of year. The weather is cooler, the lake is more stable, and debris is less active thanks to reduced power generation from Smith Mountain Dam. Unfortunately, it took nearly the entire summer for AEP (Appalachian Power) to address most of the debris from June’s high-water incident in the lower half of the lake (from Mile Marker 9 down to the dam). The debris above Mile Marker 10, however, has not yet been addressed. While it may eventually drift down, leaving it unresolved for so long is unacceptable. AEP maintains that their efforts meet license requirements. Still, this summer raised serious concerns. Not only did debris increase after the June flooding, but Appalachian also kept water levels extremely low for much of the summer—especially on weekends—making it difficult or impossible for many dock owners to safely swim or access their boats. This problem is worsened by increasing silt buildup over the past decade, which is affecting shallow coves here and at Smith Mountain Lake. If too much water is withdrawn from Smith Mountain Lake, they could face similar problems. We hope AEP will work with us next year to find a better balance for both lakes.

As many of you know, Appalachian’s proposed debris-capture boom was rejected by reviewing agencies. TLAC members, LLA representatives, Appalachian, and federal officials plan to meet with those agencies over the winter to press the case for this important device. We don’t plan to give up; we believe this project is imperative for the long-term safety and beauty of our lake. Since January, AEP crews and a part-time contractor have collected 1,820 tons of debris from Leesville Lake. This is less than at the same point last year—largely because crews have not worked above Mile Marker 10 all summer. We estimate another 500–700 tons remain to be collected before January. Looking ahead, AEP plans to schedule crew work 2–3 days per week on Leesville and to utilize a contractor when available. In October they plan to work primarily from Mile Markers 0–12. We will keep you updated on their schedule after that.

Please continue to report debris sightings and stay safe on the water. We hope to see many of you at the LLA Members Meeting on October 11.

Finally, please join me in welcoming our newest Debris Committee member, Sherrie Beard, and her first mate, Rick. We truly appreciate their help.

Your Debris Committee: Sherrie Beard • Gary McMillan • Roy Kelley • Dave Rives • Rob Johnson • Tom Galvanek

Safe Boating!

debris@leesvillelake.org

Water Quality Report

Charlie Hamilton



Leesville Lake Water Quality is good and will continue to support all your recreational needs this summer and fall.

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.

This spring APCo submitted a draft Virginia Water Permit (VWP), Individual Permit Number 24-1547, for continued operation of the Smith Mountain Project. Only one Public Comment was submitted to the draft permit reviewers (Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ), submitted by Leesville Lake Association (LLA). Both the Public Comments, and the VDEQ response dated July 3, 2025 have been posted on LLA Website. The following are excerpted from the 3 July 2025 VDEQ response:

“Special Condition D.7; was added to the permit and states: “Should the permittee plan to modify or replace turbine units 2 or 4 at the Smith Mountain Dam Powerhouse during the permit term, the permittee shall install aerating turbine technology as feasible, or other technology that provides at least an equivalent level of introduction of dissolved oxygen, for the purposes of dissolved oxygen improvement in accordance with Part 1, A.3”.

“Special Condition D.7 was added to ensure should any modifications to turbines 2 or 4 happen over the permit term that the permittee would be required to install measures concurrently, with the goal to improve dissolved oxygen (DO) levels as a result of turbine operations.”

“A new Special Condition E.2. was added, requiring the permittee to continue studying, monitoring, and identifying additional methods to improve DO levels below Smith Mountain Lake Dam. Special Condition E.2. states: “Within 240 days of the issuance of this permit, the permittee shall develop and submit a Dissolved Oxygen (DO) Improvement Plan to the Department for review and approval. The permittee shall develop a comprehensive plan, designed in consultation with DEQ, the Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) and other state or federal agencies as directed, to address depressed DO levels downstream from Smith Mountain Lake Dam….. Once approved, this Plan shall be implemented, and any subsequent Department approved revisions to the Plan will become an enforceable part of permit. The results of the Plan, including the permittee’s final proposal of method(s) to improve the DO.

The Special Conditions were incorporated in final Permit VWP number 24 1547 signed on July 7, 2025. Special Conditions Summary Description:” The following conditions were developed 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.”

The signed permit has been posted on LLA Website.

Have enjoyable lake time as we transition to the Fall!

Charlie Hamilton

LLA Water Quality Chair

Nominating and Calendar Committees

Don Schimming



Nominating

Happy Autumn to all our LLA members!

The Nominating Committee is in search of members who may be interested in volunteering on our board. We have open director positions and a need for those who would be interested in serving on a committee. 

Board members meet monthly on the 2nd 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 @ don_schimming@leesvillelake.org or 540-717-2488 or speak to any board member.

Calendar

SALE!! The board will have 2025 calendars available for sale for $5.00 at the Quarterly General Meeting in October. Pick one up and enjoy all the wonderful pictures submitted by our membership from all around our lake.

Our 2026 Calendars will also be available at the October General Meeting and can also be ordered here: Donate to Leesville Lake Association

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 Picture Upload – Leesville Lake Association.

Navigation Committee

Glenn Coleman

Navigation Committee Report for September 11, 2025



1. The towed watersports map of Leesville Lake has been finalized. TLAC has posted an electronic version on their website. I have reached out to the map maker to find out if we could purchase hard copies for posting at appropriate access areas on the lake. I should be able to provide that information at our next meeting.

2. Joe Humphreys has checked all of our Hazard buoys and found two that have been affected by the large amount of debris in the past few weeks. The Navigation Committee will be working soon to reset or repair the Hazard Buoys at mile marker 9 and mile marker 14. These same two buoys were affected by debris last year. Joe is also going to collect the hazard buoy from the Runaway Bay dock and work to reset it at its original place near Old Woman’s creek.

3. The Navigation committee is preparing application materials for the placement of a shoal marker just below the Tolers Ferry Bridge.

4. Joe Humphreys replaced the battery on the LLA pontoon boat when the old one was impossible to recharge.

5. The Navigation Committee is in need of volunteers to aid with the physical work involved in raising sunken buoys and their anchors (up to 100 + lbs.). The committee now consists of retired men who are recovering from various physical ailments. If you are physically able and would like to help, please contact me at navigation@leesvillelake.org .