KINGSTON, (Tenn.) --- Memorial Day weekend is quickly approaching and some Roane County businesses worry the TVA ash spill could make waves in summer business.

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation says some marinas and other tourist businesses have reported sales cancellations.

Area businesses say the ash slide is only one part of the puzzle. The economy and good weather also fit into it.

Roane County residents still worry about getting into the water ways. The state and TVA say Watts Barr outside the immediate spill site is good-to-go.

For Bunch Marine, Memorial Day weekend usually means the start of steady summer sales.

"It generally means the beginning of the family boating season," owner Curtis Bunch said.

But this year Bunch believes the ash spill is still on everyone's minds.

"Lot of concern about the environment, lot of concern about water quality," Bunch said.

Bunch says that makes him a little concerned about sales.

"If people don't truly understand how it would impact their boat, or boating if they're on the lake," Bunch said.

More than five million cubic yards of fly ash spilled from TVA's Kingston Fossil Plant on December 22nd, 2008.

TVA estimates more than half the sludge sank into the Emory River.

Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has collected bi-weekly water samples from multiple stations in the area since January 2nd, 2009.

Metal levels were highest just after the spill, TDEC data shows specific metals that "have violated Tennessee water quality criteria for protection of either human health or fish and aquatic life include thallium, arsenic, lead, aluminum, iron, copper, mercury, and cadmium. "

TDEC says most of the violations were in the Emory River, near the spill site.

"What we found in the sampling results is that the closer you are to the ash, in general that's where the higher exceedances are," said TDEC spokeswoman Tisha Calabrese-Benton.

So TDEC says you should avoid the lower Emory River, but it says the rest of Watts Bar is safe.

"There's been no indication that the situation in Watts Barr Reservoir outside the immediate of the ash spill has changed," Benton said

Benton said she'd swim in Watts Bar Reservoir and Volunteer TV already found boaters out and swimmers jumping in the Clinch River.

"More than likely, I'll end up jumping. I'm hoping for the best. I don't think I'm going to end up getting an extra appendage growing out of me," Kingston resident John Martin said.

But not everyone's ready to take a dip.

"You get in the water, and sometimes you'll intake it. I'm just scared. I don't know what's in it. I'm scared to let my children get in," Tammie Haynes said.

Businesses say they're more concerned about the economy than boaters' fears about the water.

"A lot of marina dealers have gone out of business. We've lost six in East Tennessee. That hasn't got anything to do with the ash spill," Bunch said.

TVA has begun removing the ash from the Emory River. The utility planned to pull out about 1.7 million yards of it during phase one of the dredging.

TDEC says it'll continue monitoring the water, and it will modify any recreational recommendations as needed.

Bunch Marine says you won't damage your boat or engine by putting it Watts Barr, but he gets customers asking those questions everyday.