More heavy rain ahead; TVA reservoirs may rise up to 15 feet

Water pours over the spillway at Chickamauga Dam in this file photo.
Water pours over the spillway at Chickamauga Dam in this file photo.

With up to 4 inches of rain predicted to fall in the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina, the Tennessee Valley Authority is holding back water in its upstream reservoirs and spilling water through most of the dams it controls on the Tennessee River to limit possible flooding in low lying areas.

TVA spokesman Travis Brickey said nearly 2 inches of rain has fallen since Sunday in spots of the TVA's 7-state region and more rain is forecast through Wednesday.

"We are spilling water or plan to spill water at every dam on the Tennessee River except Fort Loudoun and Wheeler dams," Brickey said. "The system is operating as it is supposed to and we are already at winter pool on our reservoirs so we have plenty of storage space for more water."

The heavy rains could lift lake levels at reservoirs like Norris, Fontana or Douglas by up to 15 feet, Brickey said.

At the Chickamauga Dam in Chattanooga, nearly 56,000 cubic feet per second of water is moving through TVA turbines or over spillways at the dam. That is still below the threshold of 85,000 cubic feet per second of stream flow that typically limits river navigation in Chattanooga.

At the Nickajack Dam in Marion County, 76,300 cubic feet per second of water is now flowing through that dam. TVA also began spilling water through the Watts Bar dam this afternoon, Brickey said.

Rainfall in Chattanooga so far in 2015 has already surpassed the usual annual total precipitation of about 52 inches a year. Prior to the current rain storms, Chattanooga has received nearly 54.6 inches or rain, or 7.2 inches more than normal at this time of the year.

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