KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — With the unofficial start of summer quickly approaching, many people are getting ready to hit the water. The Tennessee Valley Authority has good news — all of its lakes and reservoirs are expected to be at summer pool recreation levels by Memorial Day. But a few weeks ago, it was a different story.
TVA Spokesperson Scott Brooks said earlier this spring, it was uncertain whether the water would be ready for boaters this summer. He said this was the case in four East Tennessee reservoirs.
"In the fall of 2023, we were talking about drought conditions across a lot of our service area, and that persisted on into the winter," said Brooks. "So as early as late April, we were coming out of six months below normal rainfall, and 12 or 13 months below normal runoff."
After Labor Day, Brooks said the water levels are lowered gradually, to get down to the winter pool levels. The hope is for rainfall and runoff to get it back up to what it needs to be for the summer. Thanks to some mid-May rainfall, Brooks said the reservoirs are right on track. He said the TVA likes to be at their summer levels by June 1.
"The rain event in the middle of the month in May brought about 3-and-a-half inches of rain across the system," said Brooks. "In some areas, Middle Tennessee got 5-8 inches of rain. So that helped give us that boost that we needed. So the good news is, we expect all the reservoirs including the tributaries to be at their summer recreation levels by Memorial Day."
Darrell Guinn, a senior manager of the River Forecast Center, said in a video provided by the TVA that it takes daily work to get to that summer pool level.
"So we have several operating objectives that we're aiming to cover on a day-to-day basis," said Guinn. "Those cover anywhere from navigation, flood control, hydroelectric generation, water supply, recreation, and water quality. Those six things are all part of how we operate the system. And so, each reservoir contributes its own part to that plan, people need to be aware of the current levels of the reservoir and what that situation is in that particular location."
Guinn said rainfall is still needed going forward to keep the water at the right levels.
"We do need normal rainfall to maintain that elevation throughout the summer, and so we'll be using just the minimum amount of water that we need to maintain the downstream commitments of the water quality, and those types of demands to make sure we can hold on to and maintain the reservoir levels," said Guinn.
Brooks also said people heading into the water should use extra caution after rainfall. He said it could wash debris into the water that can make navigating the water more hazardous — even for experienced boaters.
Brooks says the right water level is also good for more than just recreation. He said more rain runs through more generators, and that's good news for electricity bills.
"Hydro production is one form of generation," said Brooks. "It's also one of our cheapest forms of generation, because rainfall is free fuel from the sky. We take every raindrop we can that falls into the reservoir system and run it through as many generators as we can before it goes out of Paducah, Kentucky. So that is, that's a benefit to people who pay their power bills, because the more we can use that cheaper form of generation, the less we have to use other generation that requires fuel like natural gas and coal."
The TVA website has a section that allows people to check the lake levels. Brooks recommends that anyone headed to the water should continuously check the levels. It's updated hourly.