GREENE COUNTY, Tenn. — A dam that saw heavy water flows and was pushed to its limit during historic flooding in upper East Tennessee will be inspected by the Tennessee Valley Authority on Oct. 16.
It said the Nolichucky Dam was stable and secure on Monday. It is located in Greene County and was designed to have water flowing over it. The TVA said it was built in 1913 and was taken out of service in 1972 due to the siltation of the reservoir. It no longer has power generators and produces no electricity, but the concrete structure remains as a kind of buffer along the Nolichucky River.
The TVA said its small spillway gate would be opened on Tuesday to let the reservoir lower and to stop water from falling over the main spillway. Without water flowing over it, the TVA's Dam Safety team will be able to perform a downstream inspection.
The dam is around 94 feet high and around 482 feet long, according to the TVA.