American Travel Journal: Several East Tennessee Dams

Two thousand thirteen has been one of the wettest years on record in the Tennessee Valley. Here are pictures and some video of East Tennessee dams and reservoirs in early July, 2013. All available generating units were running and some of the dams were spilling water as well. Spilling water is only done when all available generating units are operating and additional water needs to be moved downstream quickly to reduce flooding and restore storage capacity somewhere upstream.

Calderwood Dam

Calderwood Dam on the Little Tennessee River is owned and operated by Brookfield Smoky Mountain Hydropower LLC. Built in 1930, Calderwood is a 232 feet high concrete arch dam spanning 916 feet across The Narrows, a horseshoe-shaped gorge. The powerhouse is located over a mile downstream from the dam with the water piped through the ridge that separates the two legs of the horseshoe. The three turbine-generator sets can produce 140 megawatts (MW) of power. Operations at TVA's Fontana Dam upstream dictate the operations at Calderwood, including when Calderwood needs to spill water.I have not yet found a clearly public access path to the base of the dam so these pictures are from behind the dam at the overlook on Calderwood Highway, US 129, also known as The Tail of the Dragon.

The mist rising below the dam is a sign of spilling or sluicing operations

Calderwood Reservoir

Cherokee Dam

Cherokee Dam on the Holston River is owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The dam was built in 16 months and completed at the end of 1941. The 175 feet high dam spans 6,760 feet including both the earthen sections and the concrete gravity section with the spillways and powerhouse. The four generating units are capable of producing 148 MW. Spilling operations have not been required at Cherokee this year.

No spilling or sluicing, but all four units are running

Looking downstream on the Holston River

Chilhowee Dam

Chilhowee Dam on the Little Tennessee River is owned and operated by Brookfield Smoky Mountain Hydropower LLC. Located below Calderwood, Chilhowee is also operated in a run-of-the-river fashion dependent on operations at TVA's Fontana Dam upstream. The 89 foot high dam contains three generators with a combined capacity of 48 MW. The dam was placed in service in 1957 by a subsidiary of Alcoa, Inc.

Spilling excess water

The upstream face of Chilhowee Dam

Chilhowee Reservoir

Douglas Dam

Douglas Dam on the French Broad River is owned and operated by TVA. Douglas was built during World War II and was completed in just 382 days or less than 13 months, setting a world record for projects of similar size. The 201 feet high dam stretches 1,705 feet across the river. Its four generating units have a capacity of 111 MW.

View from the visitor center

Reservoir and river

Upstream face of the dam

Douglas Reservoir

Downstream face of the dam

Spilling operations

Gates are used to regulate the amount of water released

View from the TN 338 highway bridge

High water touches the warning signs at the boat ramp

French Broad River downstream of the highway bridge

Norris Dam

Norris Dam on the Clinch River is owned and operated by TVA. Norris was the first dam built by TVA and was placed in operation in 1936. The concrete gravity dam is 265 feet high, 1,860 feet long and includes two generating units with a capacity of 110 MW. Spilling operations were conducted at Norris twice earlier in 2013. I've included a few pictures from sluicing operations in January and spilling operations in May.

Sluicing in January from below the dam

Sluicing in January from the west overlook

The reservoir was nearly full in January

Spilling in May from the west overlook

The reservoir at full summer pool elevation in early May

Spilling water at Norris Dam in May

Upstream face of the dam

Elevator tower and west overlook

Looking downstream from above the switchyard

Water leaks around the drum gates and flows down the spillways

Clinch River below the dam

Norris Reservoir

Water leaking around gates

Watauga Dam

Watauga Dam on the Watauga River is owned and operated by TVA. Its construction was halted during World War II to free up resources for more critical projects. The earthen dam was completed in 1948 with a height of 332 feet and a width of 925 feet. The reservoir is the highest elevation of all of TVA's dams. Two generating units with a combined capacity of 66 MW are located in a powerhouse downstream of the dam. The area between the dam and the powerhouse is usually closed to visitors so I don't have any pictures of the downstream face of the dam. However, the Appalachian Trail crosses the crest of the dam.

Sailboat on Watauga Reservoir

Appalachian Mountains from the visitor center

Upstream side of Watauga Dam

Powerhouse

Bridge over the Watauga RIver

Wilbur Dam

Located about three miles downstream of Watauga Dam, the 76 foot high Wilbur Dam spans 375 feet across the Watauga River. This concrete gravity dam was completed in 1912 by the Watauga Power Company and was sold to TVA in 1945. The four generating units in the powerhouse produce a combined 11 MW.