It’s a thundering sound that is rarely heard along the Gauley River these days.
Since the hydropower plant went into operation in 2001 at Summersville Dam, most of the water flowing through the dam and into the river has quietly been pumped through the power plant - but to celebrate the beginning of the short whitewater season (and just for fun), the morning of Sept. 5, 2014, one of the giant Howell-Bunger valves was opened and a roaring jet of cold water greeted the rafters as they started their journey down the river.