With the official start of the summer recreation season this weekend, the Tennessee Valley Authority would like to share some information on the status of its reservoirs. The good news – almost all our reservoirs are full and ready for recreation season! TVA manages an integrated system of 49 dams and reservoirs, including 652 miles of the Tennessee River between Knoxville, Tennessee and Paducah, Kentucky. As part of that management, we lower many of the reservoirs every fall at the height of the hurricane season and raise them again starting March 1 when rainfall and runoff is usually at its highest. Our goal is to have them all at summer levels by June 1.
New this year – TVA invested $2.2 million in a new, updated River Forecast Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. TVA’s river operations staff can observe and manage the entire system from that one room. It came into service the week of Hurricane Helene in September 2024.
TVA photo.