Managing Water Supplies on the Tennessee River Founded in 1933, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a corporate agency of the U.S. government focused on providing navigation, flood-damage reduction, power generation, improved water quality, water supply, recreation, and economic growth along the Tennessee River. The TVA manages the fifth-largest river system in the United States, covering 40,910 square miles, including portions of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. TVA water contributes to the water supplies of cities across the Southeast, including Knoxville, Chattanooga, and Kingsport in Tennessee and Huntsville and Decatur in Alabama. And while the Tennessee River has the most water extractions per square mile in the United States, it has one of the lowest levels of consumptive loss. Municipal Water Leader’s senior writer, John Crotty, spoke with Gary Springston, water supply manager; Amanda Bowen, civil engineer for TVA water resources; and Tina Guinn, manager of reservoir land use and permitting, about TVA’s water supply operations, drought management procedures, and preparations for the future. John Crotty: Can you describe the role of municipal water supplies within TVA operations?
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PHOTO COURTESY OF TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY.
Gary Springston: The TVA operates the Tennessee River system for navigation, flood control, power generation, water supply, water quality, and recreation. Our part involves water supply. Water extractions from the Tennessee River water system require a permit from the TVA. As a federal entity, we are required to follow the guidelines of the National Environmental Policy Act and complete a thorough environmental review associated with the implementation of a new water withdrawal or an increase in an existing water withdrawal. We have to look at volumes being removed to see whether they have any effect downstream or valleywide. At the 20,000-foot view, our river reservoir operating system plan, implemented in 2004, mandates how we operate the system to maintain a balance of all the benefits. We gauge consumptive loss every 5 years to see how much water loss we have in the valley from water withdrawals. We then make forecasts for the future. As long as consumptive loss is within what was anticipated
Guntersville Dam.
MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER
