TVA spilling dams along Tennessee River to reduce risk of flooding

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Those who boat or live along the Tennessee River may see a change in the water levels. The Tennessee Valley Authority moved large amounts of water down stream following the recent heavy rain in order to keep the river at a safe level and prevent flooding.

“Trying to store that water behind the dams and protect the cities and entities that are downstream of the dam,” Darrell Guinn, Senior manager for TVA’s River Forecast Center said. “Our first action is to store as much water in the tributaries and keep that runoff from the mountains and inflows out of the main river. Then we can deal with what rainfall right on the main river.”

Guinn said some areas will see higher water levels while others will remain the same.

“It’s going to be a mixed bag. They are also going to see increased flows on the main river,” Guinn said. “Here in Knoxville the flows along the river are going to be higher than they are normally. We are currently spilling at Ft. Loudon and all nine dams along the main river.”

TVA reported the river system saw between half an inch to three and a half inches of rainfall. They are now moving large amounts of water at an unusual time.

“It’s not real normal to spill during the warm months and once we are up to these periods of summer type weather patterns we don’t see a lot of spill activities,” Guinn said. “In certain situations, we have excessive rainfall like we did this week. We have to go into those operations to move the additional water.”

People who plan to be on the water are advised to exercise extreme caution due to the increased flows over the next few weeks.

TVA said, if you’re on the water to also be on the lookout for debris that may be floating in the water as well as the water levels. You can check conditions of the reservoirs in your area on TVA.com .

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