Chattanooga’s river artery remains off limits for barge traffic this weekend after heavy rains boosted the flow of the rain-swollen Tennessee River.
“The entire Chattanooga industry that is tied to barge transportation is affected,” said Mark Mayfield, vice president and general manager for Tennessee Valley Towing Co. in Paducah, Ky., which has more than a dozen barges stalled in and around Chattanooga. “The last time we were able to get a boat into Chattanooga was Jan. 22 and even then we were running only daylight hours due to the high water in the river.”
Barge operators say this has been an unusual winter in which river shipments from Chattanooga have been restricted by the high water and heavy flow in the Tennessee River.
The Tennessee Valley Authority, which controls the flow of the Tennessee River through its network of 49 dams, has been spilling water through its dams for 103 of the past 132 days. After three years of drought, above-average rains during 2009 and so far this year have forced TVA to open spillways on most of its dams and kept the Tennessee River on the Nickajack Reservoir in Chattanooga above levels acceptable for most river navigation.
Rainfall in Chattanooga during 2009 was more than 8 inches above normal and precipitation so far this year is nearly 2 inches above normal, according to the National Weather Service.