Our mission is to protect and improve the environment of the reservoir. A clean lake ensures that everyone can enjoy the water, and it helps protect property values.
What is the reservoir? Click HERE
What do we do, and how? We are an all-volunteer, not-for-profit association, with committees focused on three areas: Water Quality, Trails, and Cleanup.
How can you help?
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Learn more. Explore this website. Click HERE to join our news feed.
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Consider Best Practices that you might employ in your own property.
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See if there might be a volunteer activity of interest to you. Click HERE for more info.
The WQIC supplements the environmental monitoring of government agencies by conducting more frequent testing at many additional locations on the reservoir, and follows up with efforts to improve the quality of the water. These efforts are taken in collaboration with state and local agencies.
The committee consists of individuals, most of whom are retired, who have experience and interest in advocacy for the environment [click HERE for more details]. We are considered a Citizen-Science group, and we foster relationships with both Academia and with Government Agencies. Our primary focus is on monitoring water quality, but we also advocate to lessen the impact of local land use on water quality. Having said that, there is ample opportunity for people of many different backgrounds. Click HERE if you'd like to learn more.
On the third Saturday of March, prior to the lake levels coming up to summer pool WATeR organizes a Shoreline Cleanup. About 250 volunteers join in the effort to fill four dumpsters with several tons of trash. We organize about 25 community service organizations who each field a team of volunteers. Contact one of the organizations listed below to join their team. Alternatively, we usually organize a team of individual volunteers: you can express your interest HERE and we'll be in touch.
The hiking trail on the east lakeshore of Tellico Lake began in 2002 and was solidified with a formal cooperative agreement between WATeR and the Tennessee Valley Authority in 2003. Construction of the trail was accomplished mainly with volunteer labor. The project involved initial trail layout and years of trail construction including the installation of footbridges, fence stiles, stairs, water bars, scenic view benches, trail blazes and directional signs.
The 31 mile East Lakeshore Trail was completed in 2016 and is maintained year-round by about 50 WATeR volunteers organized under the guidelines of the TVA Adopt-a-Trail program. Nine teams of volunteers maintain one of the nine branches of the trail. There is also a Trails work crew who tackle bigger projects once or twice a month. Click HERE if you might be interested to volunteer on the trail.
WATeR organizes a monthly two hour hike along one of the sections of the trail. More information is below:
Upcoming Events
TVA National Trails DaySat, Jun 27WindRiver’s Antioch Parking & Trailhead
2027 Annual Shoreline CleanupSat, Mar 20Tellico Reservoir
Watershed Association of the Tellico Reservoir
PO Box 992
Lenoir City, TN 37771