Chickamauga Dam

Chickamauga Dam
Chickamauga Dam
	Chickamauga Dam
Official name	Chickamauga Dam
Location	Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States
Coordinates	35°06′14″N85°13′46″W / 35.10389°N 85.22944°W
Construction began	January 13, 1936
Opening date	January 15, 1940
Operator(s)	Tennessee Valley Authority
Dam and spillways
Impounds	Tennessee River
Height	129 ft (39 m)
Length	5,800 ft (1,800 m)
Reservoir
Creates	Chickamauga Lake
Total capacity	737,300 acre⋅ft (909,400 dam3)
Catchment area	20,790 sq mi (53,800 km2)

Last updated March 27, 2024

The Chickamauga Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. The dam is owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the late 1930s as part of a New Deal era initiative to improve navigation and bring flood control and economic development to the Tennessee Valley. The dam impounds the 36,240-acre (14,670 ha) Chickamauga Lake and feeds into Nickajack Lake. The dam and associated infrastructure were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.

Chickamauga Dam is named for the Chickamaugas, a politically detached branch of the Cherokee whose chief village was located just north of the dam site during the 18th century.^[2] The tribe's name has also been applied to several streams in the Chattanooga area, as well as an important American Civil War battle and a sandbar that existed at the dam site prior to its construction.^[3]

Location

Chickamauga Dam is located 471 miles (758 km) upstream from the mouth of the Tennessee River, just east of downtown Chattanooga at the river's confluence with North Chickamauga Creek. The reservoir stretches for 59 miles (95 km) from Chickamauga Dam to the base of Watts Bar Dam, and includes parts of Hamilton, Bradley, McMinn, Rhea, and Meigs counties. The reservoir's notable embayments include Harrison Bay at its confluence with Wolftever Creek approximately 10 miles (16 km) upstream from the dam and the Soddy Creek embayment at 20 miles (32 km) upstream. Along with its main Tennessee River channel, the reservoir is navigable across the lower 18 miles (29 km) of the Hiwassee River, which joins the Tennessee River 30 miles (48 km) above the dam.^[3]

The Wilkes T. Thrasher Bridge carries Tennessee State Route 153 across the top of Chickamauga Dam. The road connects the dam to Interstate 75 to the south and U.S. Route 27 to the north. The Tennessee Riverwalk, a 10-mile (16 km) walkway along the Tennessee River, begins at the dam.

Capacity

Chickamauga Dam is a concrete gravity-type dam 5,800 feet (1,800 m) long and 129 feet (39 m) high.^[2] Its hydroelectric generating capacity is 119 megawatts.^[2] The dam has 18 spillway bays with a combined discharge of 470,000 cubic feet per second (13,000 m³/s).^[3]

A 60-by-360-foot (18 by 110 m) navigation lock allows barges and other boats to travel past the dam, raising or lowering vessels 53 feet (16 m) between Chickamauga and Nickajack reservoirs.^[2]

Background and construction

Design plan for Chickamauga Dam, circa 1935 Chickamauga-dam-plan-tva1.jpg — Design plan for Chickamauga Dam, circa 1935

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers surveyed the Chickamauga Island site in the 1920s as a possible site for a dam to protect Chattanooga, which had suffered serious flood damage in 1867, 1875, 1886, and 1917, and to enhance navigation along the river. When the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was formed in the mid-1930s, it assumed control of navigation and flood control operations in the Tennessee Valley. After extensive surveying, TVA chose the tip of Chickamauga Island over several other sites surveyed by the Army Corps in the vicinity. The Chickamauga project was authorized December 31, 1935, and dam construction began January 13, 1936.^[3]

Map showing the parts (shaded) of downtown Chattanooga flooded when the Tennessee River broke its banks in March 1867 Chattanooga-1867-flood-tva1.jpg — Map showing the parts (shaded) of downtown Chattanooga flooded when the Tennessee River broke its banks in March 1867

The construction of Chickamauga Dam and its reservoir required the purchase of 61,350 acres (24,830 ha) of land, 6,030 acres (2,440 ha) of which were wooded and had to be cleared. 903 families, 24 cemeteries, and 81 miles (130 km) of roads had to be relocated. An embankment was built to protect parts of Dayton, Tennessee from the reservoir's backwaters, and several roads and buildings in the town of Soddy were relocated or modified. A total of 39 bridges affected by the reservoir were either raised or moved.^[3]

The navigation lock at Chickamauga Dam was designed by the Army Corps of Engineers, and was based on the lock design at Guntersville Dam. The lock was initially 60 by 360 feet (18 m × 110 m), although the dam was designed in a way that allowed a larger 110 by 600 feet (34 m × 183 m) lock to be installed if increases in river traffic ever required it.^[3]

Chickamauga Dam was completed and its gates closed on January 15, 1940, constructed at a cost of $42,065,000 (equivalent to $691 million in 2022^[4]). The lock was placed into operation on February 26, 1940, and the first generator went online May 4, 1940. Two recreational areas— Booker T. Washington State Park and Harrison Bay State Park — were developed as segregated parks along Chickamauga Lake's shores, with the former originally being for African-Americans and the latter originally being for caucasians.^[3]

Renovations

By the early 2000s, the concrete of the original lock had deteriorated due to "concrete growth" caused by chemical reactions between its constituent cement and rock aggregate. A $375 million project to replace the lock began in 2003. The new 110-by-660-foot (34 by 201 m) lock was scheduled to be completed by 2014.^[5] Progress was hampered, however, by lack of funding due to the depletion of the Inland Waterways Trust Fund that finances U.S. Army Corps of Engineers work on river navigation infrastructure. Some $52 million in additional funding was made available for the project under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. By 2013, $183 million had been spent, the total estimated cost of the project had grown to $693 million as a result of delays and increasing costs for construction materials, and an additional five years of work was estimated to remain. The existing lock is expected to become unsafe for continued use some time before 2023.^[6]

In October 2004 TVA installed a new warning system to alert individuals downstream when the dam is releasing water. The warning measures include strobe lights, signs and alarm horns.^[7]

TVA conducts periodic maintenance on Chickamauga Dam using saw-cut expansion holes, a type of expansion joint used in concrete construction. In 2010, engineering contractor S&ME used a Geoprobe drill to open and repair the expansion holes and cut new joints.^[8]

Recreation

The Riverpark Area at the Chickamauga Dam has a boat ramp, fishing piers, day-use areas, restrooms, shelter rentals, and walking and biking trails.^[9] On the shoals, below the dam, fisherman use conventional and fly tackle to fish for striped bass, large mouth bass, and small mouth bass.^[10]

Related Research Articles

The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately 652 miles (1,049 km) long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names, as the Cherokee people had their homelands along its banks, especially in what are now East Tennessee and northern Alabama. Additionally, its tributary, the Little Tennessee River, flows into it from Western North Carolina and northeastern Georgia, where the river also was bordered by numerous Cherokee towns. Its current name is derived from the Cherokee town, Tanasi, which was located on the Tennessee side of the Appalachian Mountains.

Watts Bar Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River in Meigs and Rhea counties in Tennessee, United States. The dam is one of nine dams on the main Tennessee River channel operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the early 1940s to provide flood control and electricity and to help create a continuous navigable channel along the entire length of the river. The dam is the technical boundary between the 39,090-acre (15,820 ha) Watts Bar Lake— which it impounds— and Chickamauga Lake, which stretches from the dam's tailwaters southward to Chattanooga.

Fort Loudoun Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River in Loudon County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The dam is operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which built the dam in the early 1940s as part of a unified plan to provide electricity and flood control in the Tennessee Valley and create a continuous 652-mile (1,049 km) navigable river channel from Knoxville, Tennessee to Paducah, Kentucky. It is the uppermost of nine TVA dams on the Tennessee River.

Melton Hill Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Clinch River just south of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, United States. The dam is operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the early 1960s to extend the Tennessee Valley's continuous navigation channel up the Clinch as far as Clinton and to increase TVA's overall power-generating capacity. The dam impounds the 5,470-acre (2,210 ha) Melton Hill Lake, and is the only TVA tributary dam serviced by a navigation lock. The dam and associated infrastructure were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.

Guntersville Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River in Marshall County, in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is one of nine dams on the river owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the late 1930s as part of a New Deal era initiative to create a continuous navigation channel on the entire length of the river and bring flood control and economic development to the region. The dam impounds the Guntersville Lake of 67,900 acres (27,500 ha), and its tailwaters feed into Wheeler Lake.

Wheeler Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River between Lauderdale County and Lawrence County in Alabama. It is one of nine dams on the river owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the mid-1930s as part of a New Deal-era initiative to improve navigation on the river and bring flood control and economic development to the region. The dam impounds the Wheeler Lake of 67,070 acres (27,140 ha) and its tailwaters feed into Wilson Lake.

Pickwick Landing Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River in Hardin County, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The dam is one of nine dams on the river owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the 1930s as part of a New Deal-era initiative to create a continuous navigation channel between the river's mouth and Knoxville, and bring economic development to the area. The dam impounds the 43,100-acre (17,400 ha) Pickwick Lake and its tailwaters are part of Kentucky Lake.

Nickajack Dam is a hydroelectric dam in Marion County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is one of nine dams on the Tennessee River owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the mid-1960s to replace the outdated Hales Bar Dam 6 miles (9.7 km) upstream. The dam impounds the 10,370-acre (4,200 ha) Nickajack Lake and feeds into Guntersville Lake. Nickajack Dam is named for a Cherokee village once located just upstream from the dam. The village was the namesake for Nickajack Cave, which was partially flooded by the reservoir.

Kentucky Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River on the county line between Livingston and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The dam is the lowermost of nine dams on the river owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the late 1930s and early 1940s to improve navigation on the lower part of the river and reduce flooding on the lower Ohio and Mississippi rivers. It was a major project initiated during the New Deal of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration, to invest in infrastructure to benefit the country. The dam impounds the Kentucky Lake of 160,000 acres (65,000 ha), which is the largest of TVA's reservoirs and the largest artificial lake by area in the Eastern United States. It was designated as an National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1996 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hales Bar Dam</span> United States historic place

Hales Bar Dam was a hydroelectric dam once located on the Tennessee River in Marion County, Tennessee, United States. The Chattanooga and Tennessee River Power Company began building the dam on October 17, 1905, and completed it on November 11, 1913, making Hales Bar one of the first major multipurpose dams and one of the first major dams to be built across a navigable channel in the United States. It began operation on November 13, 1913.

Apalachia Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Hiwassee River in Cherokee County, in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The dam is the lowermost of three dams on the river owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the early 1940s to provide emergency power for aluminum production during World War II. While the dam is in North Carolina, an 8.3-mile (13.4 km) underground conduit carries water from the dam's reservoir to the powerhouse located 12 miles (19 km) downstream across the state line in Polk County, Tennessee. The dam and associated infrastructure were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.

Watauga Dam is a hydroelectric and flood control dam on the Watauga River in Carter County, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the 1940s as part of efforts to control flooding in the Tennessee River watershed. At 318 feet (97 m), Watauga is the second-highest dam in the TVA river and reservoir system, and at the time of its completion was one of the highest earth-and-rock dams in the United States. The dam impounds the TVA Watauga Reservoir of 6,430 acres (2,600 ha), and its tailwaters feed into Wilbur Lake.

Ocoee Dam Number 1 is a hydroelectric dam on the Ocoee River in Polk County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The dam impounds the 1,930-acre (780 ha) Parksville Reservoir and is the farthest downstream of four dams on the Toccoa/Ocoee River owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority. Completed in 1911, Ocoee No. 1 was one of the first hydroelectric projects in Tennessee.

Blue Ridge Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Toccoa River in Fannin County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the uppermost of four dams on the Toccoa/Ocoee River owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority. The dam impounds the 3,300-acre (1,300 ha) Blue Ridge Lake on the southwestern fringe of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Hiwassee Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Hiwassee River in Cherokee County, in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is one of three dams on the river owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the late 1930s to bring flood control and electricity to the region. The dam impounds the Hiwassee Lake of 6,000 acres (2,400 ha), and its tailwaters are part of Apalachia Lake. At 307 feet (94 m), Hiwassee Dam is the highest overspill dam in the Eastern United States and third only to Shasta and Grand Coulee dams in the nation. At the time it was completed, it was the highest overspill dam in the world.

Nottely Dam is a hydroelectric and flood storage dam on the Nottely River in Union County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. The dam is owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the early 1940s as a flood control structure and to help regulate flow at nearby Hiwassee Dam. The dam impounds the Lake Nottely of 4,180 acres (16.9 km²). While the dam was built primarily for flood storage, a generator was installed at Nottely in the 1950s, giving it a small hydroelectric output.

Chatuge Dam is a flood control and hydroelectric dam on the Hiwassee River in Clay County, in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The dam is the uppermost of three dams on the river owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the early 1940s for flood storage and to provide flow regulation at Hiwassee Dam further downstream. The dam impounds the 7,000-acre (2,800 ha) Chatuge Lake, which straddles the North Carolina-Georgia state line. While originally built solely for flood storage, a generator installed at Chatuge in the 1950s gives the dam a small hydroelectric output. At the time it was built, Chatuge Dam was the highest earthen dam in the world until the Aswan Dam was built in Egypt in 1964. The dam and associated infrastructure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.

Wilbur Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Watauga River in Carter County, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is one of two dams on the river owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority. The dam impounds Wilbur Lake, which extends for about 3 miles (4.8 km) up the Watauga to the base of Watauga Dam. Wilbur Dam was completed in 1912 making it the second oldest dam in the TVA system behind Ocoee Dam No. 1. Wilbur Dam was one of the first major hydroelectric projects in Tennessee, and remains one of the oldest dams in the TVA system.

Boone Dam is a hydroelectric and flood control dam on the South Fork Holston River on the border between Sullivan County and Washington County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is one of three dams on the South Fork Holston owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the early 1950s as part of greater efforts to control flooding in the Tennessee River watershed. The dam impounds the 4,500-acre (1,800 ha) Boone Lake, and its tailwaters are part of Fort Patrick Henry Lake. The dam and associated infrastructure were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.

Fort Patrick Henry Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the South Fork Holston River within the city of Kingsport, in Sullivan County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the lowermost of three dams on the South Fork Holston owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the early 1950s to take advantage of the hydroelectric potential created by the regulation of river flow with the completion of Watauga Dam, South Holston Dam, and Boone Dam further upstream in preceding years. The dam impounds the 872-acre (353 ha) Fort Patrick Henry Lake. While originally built for hydroelectric generation, the dam now plays an important role in the regulation of water flow and water temperature for the John Sevier Fossil Plant and other industrial plants downstream. The dam and associated infrastructure were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.

References

1 2 3 4 "Chickamauga Dam". National Performance of Dams Program, National Inventory of Dams. Stanford University. Archived from the original on 2012-12-14. Retrieved 2012-10-10.
1 2 3 4 TVA: Chickamauga Reservoir Archived 2015-08-22 at the Wayback Machine fact sheet, TVA website
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Tennessee Valley Authority, The Chickamauga Project: A Comprehensive Report on the Planning, Design, Construction, and Initial Operations of the Chickamauga Project, Technical Report No. 6 (Knoxville, Tenn.: Tennessee Valley Authority, 1942), 1-12, 41-43, 49, 246.
↑ Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved November 30, 2023. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the Measuring Worth series.
↑ New lock takes shape at Chickamauga Dam Archived 2012-02-10 at the Wayback Machine , Chattanooga Times Free Press , August 11, 2008
↑ Dave Flessner (February 9, 2013). "Chickamauga Dam project locks up: Material ready for new lock but money short for $693 million project". Chattanooga Times Free Press.
↑ "International Water Power & Dam Construction". October 2004.
↑ "Drilling Expansion Holes For the Chickamauga Dam". June 2010. Archived from the original on 2020-11-24. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
↑ "Chickamauga Dam | Hamilton County Parks and Recreation, TN". parks.hamiltontn.gov. Retrieved 2022-11-03.
↑ "Chickamauga Dam Fishing (Chattanooga)". The Adventure Collective. 2018-04-21. Retrieved 2022-11-03.

"Chickamauga Dam". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey . Retrieved 2006-05-02.

External links

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[NPDP-1] 1 2 3 4 "Chickamauga Dam". National Performance of Dams Program, National Inventory of Dams. Stanford University. Archived from the original on 2012-12-14. Retrieved 2012-10-10.

[TVAfact-2] 1 2 3 4 TVA: Chickamauga Reservoir Archived 2015-08-22 at the Wayback Machine fact sheet, TVA website

[book1-3] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Tennessee Valley Authority, The Chickamauga Project: A Comprehensive Report on the Planning, Design, Construction, and Initial Operations of the Chickamauga Project, Technical Report No. 6 (Knoxville, Tenn.: Tennessee Valley Authority, 1942), 1-12, 41-43, 49, 246.

[inflation-USGDP-4] Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved November 30, 2023. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the Measuring Worth series.

[5] New lock takes shape at Chickamauga Dam Archived 2012-02-10 at the Wayback Machine , Chattanooga Times Free Press , August 11, 2008

[6] Dave Flessner (February 9, 2013). "Chickamauga Dam project locks up: Material ready for new lock but money short for $693 million project". Chattanooga Times Free Press.

[7] "International Water Power & Dam Construction". October 2004.

[8] "Drilling Expansion Holes For the Chickamauga Dam". June 2010. Archived from the original on 2020-11-24. Retrieved 2021-07-05.

[9] "Chickamauga Dam | Hamilton County Parks and Recreation, TN". parks.hamiltontn.gov. Retrieved 2022-11-03.

[10] "Chickamauga Dam Fishing (Chattanooga)". The Adventure Collective. 2018-04-21. Retrieved 2022-11-03.

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v t e Facilities operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority
Dams and hydroelectric generating stations	Apalachia Bear Creek Beaver Creek Beech Blue Ridge Boone Cedar Cedar Creek Chatuge Cherokee Chickamauga Clear Creek Dogwood Douglas Fontana Fort Loudoun Fort Patrick Henry Great Falls Guntersville Hiwassee Kentucky Little Bear Creek Lost Creek Melton Hill Nickajack Nolichucky Normandy Norris Nottely Ocoee 1 Ocoee 2 Ocoee 3 Pickwick Landing Pin Oak Pine Raccoon Mountain Redbud South Holston Sycamore Tellico Tims Ford Upper Bear Creek Watauga Watts Bar Wheeler Wilbur Wilson
Coal-fired power plants	Allen Bull Run Colbert Cumberland Gallatin John Sevier Johnsonville Kingston Paradise Shawnee Watts Bar Widows Creek Wilson
Gas turbine plants	Allen Brownsville Caledonia Colbert Gallatin Gleason John Sevier Johnsonville Kemper Lagoon Creek Magnolia Marshall Paradise Southaven
Nuclear power plants	Browns Ferry Sequoyah Watts Bar