Nolichucky Dam
| Nolichucky Dam | |
|---|---|
 Nolichucky Dam in the 1940s | |
| Location | Greene County, Tennessee, United States |
| Coordinates | 36°03′53″N 82°52′00″W / 36.06478°N 82.86653°W |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Impounds | Nolichucky River |
Nolichucky Dam is a dam on the Nolichucky River near Greeneville, Tennessee, maintained by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).[1] The dam is located just over 46 miles (74 km) upstream from the mouth of the Nolichucky, and impounds Davy Crockett Lake,[1][2] which extends 6 miles (9.7 km) upstream from the dam.[2][3]
The dam is a concrete gravity overflow type dam 94 feet (29 m) high and 482 feet (147 m) long.[2][3] The dam has an ogee-type spillway with a flashboard crest. Its reservoir, Davy Crockett Lake (named for the folk figure who was born a few miles upstream from the modern dam site in 1786), has roughly 800 acres (320 ha) of water surface.[3]
Nolichucky Dam was built by the Tennessee Eastern Electric Company (TEEC) in 1912-1913 for hydroelectricity generation.[4] The dam was initially equipped with two generators, and TEEC added two more in 1923.[3] In 1941, the East Tennessee Light & Power Company obtained ownership of the dam when it purchased TEEC's assets.[5] The Tennessee Valley Authority purchased East Tennessee Light & Power in 1945 for a lump sum that included $1.47 million for Nolichucky Dam. TVA made various improvements, and at its height, the dam was capable of producing 10,640 kilowatts of electricity.[3] TVA used the dam for power generation until 1972, when sediment buildup in Davy Crockett Lake made continued electricity generation impractical.[2] The dam and reservoir are now used for flood control and recreation;[1] the reservoir is a wildlife management area.[2] The continued sediment buildup is resulting in upstream flooding.
Heavy rainfall from Hurricane Helene on September 27, 2024 caused major flooding on the Nolichucky River leading the TVA to issue a Condition Yellow warning that the dam could fail or breach. At 12:13 am on September 28 TVA issued a Condition Red Warning and that a breach or failure is imminent, which would cause life threatening flooding in areas below dam.[6] The dam did not fail, however the 111 year old powerhouse had to be torn down due to damage from the floodwaters.[7]
References
- ^ a b c Nolichucky River, in Tennessee Watersheds - EAST, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation website
- ^ a b c d e Nolichucky Dam and Davy Crockett Reservoir, Tennessee Valley Authority website
- ^ a b c d e Tennessee Valley Authority, Design of TVA Projects Volume3: Mechanical Design of Hydro Plants, Technical Report No. 24 (Washington, D.C.: Tennessee Valley Authority, 1952), 301-302.
- ^ Tennessee Valley Authority, Nolichucky Reservoir Flood Remediation Environmental Impact Statement. ca. 2001-2002. Retrieved: 21 January 2009. PDF file.
- ^ Finding Aid for East Tennessee Light and Power Company Records. East Tennessee State University — Archives of Appalachia. Retrieved: 21 January 2009.
- ^ https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/tva-nolichucky-dam-failure-is-imminent-could-cause-life-threatening-flooding/
- ^ https://wgrv.com/2024/10/09/power-house-razed-after-flood-damage/
External links
- Nolichucky Dam and Davy Crockett Reservoir — TVA site
- Davy Crockett Reservoir [dead link] — Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
- Archives of Appalachia - East Tennessee Light and Power Company Records