NASHVILLE, Tenn. (March 26, 2025) - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District's Water Quality Program lead is the January 2025 employee of the month for collecting water samples, interpreting the results, and making recommendations for water control changes at 10 dams the district operates in the Cumberland River Basin.
Lt. Col. Robert W. Green, Nashville District commander, lauded Mark Campbell for his dedication, guidance, and expertise in minimizing impacts to communities and ecosystems that depend on cool, well oxygenated, reservoir releases to sustain them.
The Nashville District operates Wolf Creek Dam, Barkley Dam, Laurel River Dam, and Martins Fork Dam in Kentucky, and Cheatham Dam, Old Hickory Dam, J. Percy Priest Dam, Cordell Hull Dam, Center Hill Dam, and Dale Hollow Dam in Tennessee.
Poor water quality in the reservoirs of these dams in 2024, due to late spring floods, exacerbated typical eutrophication processes. Eutrophication is when a water body is overly enriched with nutrients, leading to plentiful growth of plant life like algae and plankton, resulting in an increased growth of organisms that deplete the oxygen in the water.
Without Campbell's expertise and the data that he collected, the dissolved oxygen and temperature in the Caney Fork, Obey, Stones, and Cumberland Rivers would have declined, and the aquatic habitats degraded, said David Bogema, Water Management Section chief.
As the program lead, Campbell is responsible for monitoring and assessing water quality conditions at the dam projects, which is essential to developing operational plans that minimize impacts to sensitive aquatic communities and ecosystems.
Bogema said the data Campbell collects during trips to the reservoirs directly feeds into water control decisions. With a staffing shortage, he worked extra hours to support weekly water sampling trips, he said.
To mitigate impacts during the poor water quality season, Campbell said operational adjustments at Nashville District's dams were used to improve conditions in the tailwaters. Water managers opened air valves for turbine venting, used gate releases, and limited hydropower generation when necessary to improve dissolved oxygen levels, he added.
As for his selection as employee of the month, Campbell said it's great to be recognized for the dedication and hard work it requires to execute the water quality mission. He added that his job has been challenging and required a lot more time and sacrifice being the only full-time person on staff for water quality, but efforts to train teammates in the Water Management Section helped alleviate the burden at times.
Originally from Iowa, Campbell moved to Tennessee in 1989. He joined the Nashville District as a cooperative education student in 1992 in the Water Quality Section under the tutelage of Harold T. Sansing, who started the Water Quality Program in the late 1960s.
Campbell is married to Cindy, his wife of 24 years, and they have three children.
Bogema said the entire Water Management Section is proud of Campbell's selection as employee of the month and recognize his tremendous impact and leadership that made the Water Quality Program so successful in 2024.
Water management information for the Cumberland River Basin and its 10 dam projects is available at https://www.lrn-wc.usace.army.mil/.
The public can obtain news, updates and information from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District on the district's website at www.lrn.usace.army.mil, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nashvillecorps and on X (formerly Twitter) at www.twitter.com/nashvillecorps. Follow us on LinkedIn for the latest Nashville District employment and contracting opportunities at https://www.linkedin.com/company/u-s-army-corps-of-engineers-nashville-district.
Source: U.S.Army
