Dangerously low water levels at Smith Mountain Lake led the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to allow a variance in the release of water in Appalachian Power’s Smith Mountain hydroelectric project.

Beginning at noon today, Appalachian will release 150 fewer cubic feet per second from the lower reservoir, Leesville Lake, into the Staunton River. The variance is an effort to slow the fall of water levels in both reservoirs, said corporate communications manager John Shepelwich.

Water flowing in from the Blackwater and Roanoke rivers enters turbines at the Smith Mountain dam to generate energy before being released into Leesville Lake. The power company usually releases water at a rate of 650 cubic feet per second.

The flow of water into Smith Mountain Lake has been 200 cubic feet per second or less this week, which creates safety concerns, Shepelwich said.

Just after 6 p.m. Wednesday, the water level at the lake was 791.64 feet. Full pond is 795 feet.

“When the lake is down three feet or more it really becomes less safe,” said Bill Brush, chairman of the Smith Mountain Lake Association’s Water Conservation Alliance.

Brush cited unmarked shoals and narrower channels as hazards that emerge when water levels drop.

“When [the Smith Mountain] project inflows are that much less than the outflows are the only thing that gives is the lake level,” he said.

In order for a variance to be issued, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission requires a consensus among the lake’s stakeholders with approval from DEQ.

Brush contacted the utility Monday and the two contacted the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and DEQ.

“We all concurred we needed to go into a variance,” he said.

The request was issued Tuesday and approved Wednesday. It is scheduled to last for 45 days or until the water level at Smith Mountain Lake reaches 794 feet.