Dardanelle Dam Turbines are they on : Skipjacks are running

[TOPS]

I once had a phone number to the people that ran the turbines at Dardanelle dam. I have misplaced the number can anyone tell me the number or where I can look it up. I have gone all threw the phone book. I can not find it. the people will tell you what time they are releasing water but I have lost it. :mad: :sad: :o

[Cataholic]

Top! They usually start generating at three in the afternoon if they're going too. Skippies are right at the base of the wall from the powerhouse!

[Big Sam]

:) Hey Top try 229-2282 it will let you hear if they have a generator on line.

[TOPS]

Sam is that a number for here or is that a Boonville number?

[Big Sam]

:) It's for Dardnelle and ozark. :cool:

[ictalurus]

Hey Top,

Try this website out. The site lags behind a couple of hours so it doesn't help much for making quick decisions, but they tend to follow trends at times. This helps see the trend and make predictions which I do regularly.

http://www.swl-wc.usace.army.mil/real_time_data.htm

[ictalurus]

They generated yesterday morning for about an hour and then again for an hour in the afternoon. Fish were biting during the generation and quit shortly after. One side note of interest. About 500 6-18" drum came through the turbines and were floating wounded on the surface just after they began generation. The gulls and pelicans got full fast. We only caught one fish all day, but it was a beautiful 30 lbs. blue.

[TOPS]

Lindsey, thanks for the help!! will try learn how to use the site! :D

[rushryder]

Ok I checked out that website....and I don't get it. How can you tell if the turbines are running. If you can explain it that would be cool. Nothing kills me more than hooking up the boat and driving out there just to find no current. So if anyone understands it please help me out. Also if that phone # is good let me know that too please. Thanks guys

[Big Sam]

:cool: The phone # is good..I use it all the time...when i'm heading your way...

[jtrew]

RR, unless they are releasing a lot of water, it will be coming through the powerhouse. The only time they open the spillway is when the river is really high. So, if there's water flow, it's a virtual certainty that the powerhouse is releasing water. Once you get to Dardanelle Dam, you can simply drive to the overlook on the Dardanelle side, just below the powerhouse; from there, you can look down and see what turbines are operating. Then, if you want to launch your boat, you can either go to the Dardanelle ramp just below the hwy 7 bridge, or drive over to Old Post Park on the Russellville side. It's a shorter drive to the Dardanelle ramp, but a much longer boat ride, if you're going fishing right below the powerhouse. Of course, if you're putting out jugs, they aren't allowed above the bridge, so the Dardanelle ramp is in just the right place.

[ictalurus]

The one you need to look at is the bottom graph. The red line indicates generation releases or power releases and the yellow line indicates spillway releases or non-power releases. As for what the Cubic Feet per Second (cfs) equates to from your perspective will require you to go back and compare the graph to what you saw whenever you were there. Personally I like to fish when the generators are running between 15-30,000 cfs, but everyone is different. I would prefer the gates were never open or under 10,000 cfs. Anymore just seems to bee too much as the generators will probably been running around 40+ when they have to spill.

The table shows less history, but updates more quickly and indicates the turbine cfs release and the spillway cfs release.

Here is the graph for quick reference: