Rafters take to the Ocoee River rapids in Polk County in this file photo.VIDEO
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An Atlanta woman died Saturday on the Ocoee River while rafting with a group, and TVA is looking at the river’s flow and height at the time. TVA controls how much water goes into the Ocoee River with three dams, Ocoee 1 Dam, Ocoee 2 Dam and Ocoee 3 Dam.
According to a Polk County Sheriff’s Office news release, the Atlanta woman, whose identity was not released, was rafting with family and friends below the Ocoee 2 Dam when the party’s boat came upon a set of rapids called “Grumpy’s.” Two women were thrown overboard, but one was pulled back into the raft.
The other was tossed a rescue rope bag and reportedly grabbed the rope but then lost conciousness. She was brought ashore downstream and pronounced dead when emergency crews arrived around 11:30 a.m.
According to TVA’s website, at 11 a.m. Sunday, 30 minutes before the incident, the Ocoee 2 Dam was discharging 3,245 cubic feet per second into the waterway. The dam was operating two generators. It was the first time since 7 a.m. Thursday that discharge broke 3,000 cfs, according to TVA.org.