The Crossville City Council met in a special session today to discuss the water level at Holiday Lake.

Every three years, the council approves dropping the lake level from November 1 to March 1 so landowners around the lake can work to either repair or build new docks.

This year, rounds of recent rainfall hampered the work.

A few citizens spoke at the meeting today to support the deadline of March 1 to remain in effect so they can soon enjoy boating and fishing.

The rainfall has also created a problem that has the attention of the Tennessee Department of Environment Conservation.

It has washed burned debris from cleanups into the lake. Other debris and sludge have been noticed in the water by several landowners around the lake creating unsafe conditions.

This has taken place over the past few years with land development and new homes being built along the lake.

The city council learned today officials with the Tennessee Department of Environment Conservation visited the lake twice and are looking into the situation.

To allow for extra time for projects to be completed around the lake, City Councilman Rob Harrison made a motion for the level of the lake to remain low for seven more days. It received a second by City Councilman Mike Turner.

The motion passed with Mayor R. J. Crawford casting the sole no vote.

“We all agreed that that policy would be every three years, November to March,” said Mayor Crawford. “And then we also wanted to make sure that we also sent out letters because we were inconsistent with getting that information out. So the policy was every three years, starting in 2023, from November to 2024, in March, we would make sure that every single owner on the lake had received a letter.”

Crossville City Attorney Randy York said he is concerned about Mickey Eldridge’s claims of sediment and pollutants in the water.

“I’m concerned that the lake may have been damaged, based on what I’m hearing,” said York. “I want the lake to be there for the city of Crossville and particularly for the people that are there.”

Councilman Scot Shanks was the only member not in attendance for the special called meeting today.

The water level will slowly start to rise starting at noon on Friday, March 8, 2024.

The city will send letters to landowners around the lake informing them of the time extension.

The city council says they are very concerned about the lake and will also look into possible clean-up efforts to rid debris and sludge from the lake.