Tennessee Valley Authority completes Boone Dam remediation project

The TenneSSee valleY auThoriTY haS reporTed ThaT The boone dam projecT in TenneSSee, uniTed States, was finished on schedule and on budget.

A diagram of the Boone Dam seepage remediation strategy

TVA discovered seepage beneath the dam in 2014 and rapidly lowered the lake's water level to safeguard public safety, prompting the seven-year dam restoration project to begin in 2015. barrier over multiple phases, including a highly visible two-year, round-the-clock underground cutoff wall.

TVA restored the dam's crest to its previous elevation and built a floodwall when the subterranean work was completed. The project is completed with paving, fence, and site rehabilitation. The project, according to TVA Chief Operating Officer Don Moul, is a major geotechnical engineering triumph.

"The Tri-Cities region has gotten what TVA promised," he said. "We promised ourselves at the start of this project that we would finish it safely in seven years and that we would do it right the first time

with a high-quality repair.." "The Boone Dam project represents all three pillars of TVA's service purpose," said Jeff Lyash, president and CEO of TVA. "Environmental stewardship by providing a beautiful recreational area for families to picnic, swim, and relax this summer; economic development by providing a lake that helps communities in the Tri-Cities region prosper through fishing tournaments, boating activities, and other activities; and electricity that is clean, reliable, and generated right here at the Boone Dam hydropower facility." The Boone Unit 1 power plant, which was shut down for construction, will resume normal operations this summer.

TVA honored three partner organizations at the project reopening ceremony in late May: Tennessee Wildlife Resources Association (TWRA), Boone Lake Association, and Boone Dam Repair Coalition. Planting grasses and shrubs, building fish nurseries, and stocking the lake with F1 largemouth bass were all part of TWRA's collaboration. TVA collaborated closely with its neighbors, the Boone Lake Association and the Boone Dam Repair Coalition, on community outreach efforts throughout the project. At various events, they reached out to almost 25,000 people.

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