Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

TVA continues to monitor extensive flooding upstream from our tributary dams while controlling water movement through the TVA river system to minimize downstream flooding. The focus is on preventing additional flooding and moving water through the system to recover reservoir storage space in the event of additional rain in the coming days.

Water levels have crested in most locations and are declining, with the exception of Cherokee Reservoir. TVA has initiated spill operations and we are running all available generating turbines at Cherokee Dam.

A TVA spokesperson said Monday, “We are storing water and releasing it from our tributary dams in a controlled manner into the Tennessee River. That includes record releases at places like Douglas Dam in Sevier County.

“We are aware that these record releases are causing localized flooding on the Tennessee River. However, the controlled releases are resulting in much lower river levels than would be possible if the dams weren’t in place.”

The spokesperson noted that water releases will increase from dams along the mainstem Tennessee River resulting in higher water levels in places like Chattanooga and on into Alabama this week. “We expect levels will remain below flood stage along the Tennessee River. These high flows will likely result in the closure of the Tennessee River to commercial navigation for several days, including locks at Fort Loudoun and Chickamauga.

“Our focus is to keep the levels as low as safely possible above and below the dams. We expect to continue elevated releases over the next several days to recover flood storage if needed, particularly in areas like Watauga and Douglas watersheds.

“We are also generating hydro-electricity at most of our 29 hydro dams,” the spokesman said.

Rainfall/Elevations Records Set

– The Doe River at Elizabethton reached 10.78 feet which is 2.78 feet above Flood Stage and just 0.14 feet below the record flood that occurred in 1998.

–  TVA’s Watauga Dam on the Watauga River in Carter County, east of Elizabethton, reached an elevation of 1,970.29 feet, which is a new pool or record and broke the previous record by about three feet.

– The Watauga River at Elizabethton reached 13.57 feet which is about 5 feet above flood stage and the highest flood level in Elizabethton since 1940.

– The French Broad River in Newport reached a stage of 23.34 feet, 13.34 feet above flood stage and just under the flood of record elevation of 24 feet. This is the largest flood on the French Broad River at Newport since 1867.

– The Pigeon River at Newport reached a new record stage of 28.9 feet, 20.9 feet above flood stage and surpassed the previous 1904 flood record by 5.5 feet. 

Natural Resources is working closely with campground and marina operators impacted by increased reservoir levels on tributary reservoirs and increased flows throughout the Tennessee River system.

– The Nolichucky River at TVA’s Nolichucky Dam in Greene County near Greenville crested at an elevation of 1,266.03 feet, as confirmed by a crest survey conducted by the USGS. This was the highest flood of record for the dam and exceeded the previous record set in 1977 by about 9.5 feet.

Preliminary rainfall statistics suggests that the Nolichucky River watershed received rainfall that was equal to about a 1-in-5,000-year rain event.

Headwater at Nolichucky Dam is continuing to fall and is approaching normal levels. We are currently within 3 feet of normal operating headwater and have dropped 21 feet from the maximum headwater observed early Sunday morning.

Natural Resources will be working with Facilities Management to assess dam reservation recreation areas. Some dam reservations and recreation areas, including campgrounds, are closed due to storm damage.

Those include: the South Holston and Watauga reservations, Watauga Dam Campground, and Tailwater Campground at Douglas. Updates on areas that are closed are being added to TVA.com

Property owners with questions regarding storm damage, downed trees on TVA reservoir property, or changes to Section 26a permitted structures should contact TVA’s Public Land Information Center at Public Land Information Center (tva.com) or 1-800-TVA-LAND.