GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) said its flood mitigation strategies prevented millions in potential damages following Hurricane Helene, according to data released this week.
TVA said dams in its region stored 404 billion gallons of water, which is enough to fill 612,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Officials said two months of normal rainfall fell in three days on the Tennessee River watershed. TVA leaders said their plan helped prevent $406 million in damages in Lenoir City, Chattanooga, Kingsport, Elizabethton, Clinton and South Pittsburg.
"Greene County was aided immeasurably by engineer representatives from TVA from the very early stages of the storm and flooding affecting Greene County," Greene County Mayor Kevin Morrison said. "TVA's timely, accurate, and wise forecasting and professional advice to our leadership team on the conditions of the Nolichucky River and the Nolichucky Dam saved lives."
TVA leaders said the reservoir system and its ability to store water during floods led to a significant reduction in flood crests. Without the dams, officials said the river stages at Lenoir City and Chattanooga would have been about 21 to 23 feet higher than the observed levels during Helene. The Nolichucky Dam withstood nearly twice the flow of Niagara Falls.
TVA said the Nolichucky Dam at the height of flooding was 1.3 million gallons per second and the dam did not fail. The dam remains stable. The dam's old powerhouse was removed because of damage caused by flood waters but it hasn't been in service since 1972.
Between Sept. 29 and Oct. 5, TVA's hydro units generated an average of 2,869 megawatts of clean energy per day, 1,600 megawatts above average during the same timeframe last year.
