Drought conditions have made for lower water levels across the Tennessee Valley Authority’s waterways, but utility officials say rivers and reservoirs are still safe for boating and swimming as Memorial Day weekend approaches.
TVA operates 49 dams and 650 surface acres of reservoir water across its seven-state service region and has received only about 69% of the region’s typical rain fall so far this year, TVA spokesperson Scott Brooks told Knox News.
Water runoff, he said, also is crucial because it doesn’t soak into the ground like some rainfall and flows directly into lakes and streams. Runoff totals have been even more sparse, Brooks said, with only about 45% of the normal volume reported so far in 2026.
Eight inches of rain would be needed to fill Douglas and Norris lakes. The Cherokee and Fontana lakes in North Carolina would each need about a foot of rain to reach standard summer levels, Brooks said in an email.
Much of Tennessee stuck in ‘extreme drought’ conditions
Most of Tennessee has been stuck in varying degrees of drought for months. Knox County’s situation is moderate, but the situation in other parts of the state − especially south of Knoxville − has been more dire.
Weekly data released May 7 by the U.S Drought Monitor shows a swath of the state is stuck in “extreme drought,” the second most intense designation behind “exceptional drought.”
Nathan Wellington, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Morristown office, said the extended dry period in Tennessee was tracking a pattern set in 2007 when the state was in a record drought period − a worst-case-scenario against which TVA now measures other droughts.
A drought is “a long-term thing,” Wellington said, and a day or two of rain can’t really weaken them. A lengthier period of wetter weather is what the region needs, he said.
How TVA accounts for droughts by shifting water levels
Drought conditions were clear to TVA months ago, Brooks said.
Water levels at Douglas Lake are lower than normal, but the Tennessee Valley Authority says it’s still OK to visit East Tennessee waterways with some safety precautions in mind.
The weather from January to March of this year has been the ninth driest in a 137-year period. The utility, which operates dams and locks throughout the Tennessee Valley, says the drought changed how much water it has released this year.
TVA has been conservative when releasing stored water for months. It’s an approach that Brooks said served TVA and surrounding areas during Hurricane Helene.
TVA typically lowers water levels for reservoirs in late summer and has them filled in early spring. Given the rainfall deficit, people gathering on lakes and streams across the region might notice water levels look lower than usual by Memorial Day. But that’s no reason to stay away from the water, Brooks said.
“We’re doing everything we can to make sure that the lakes, river are open and available,” he said.
What does less rain and runoff mean for boaters in Tennessee?
Safety is the most important thing to consider when getting on the water in drier times, said Jason Lankford, a wildlife officer with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.
When water levels are low, Lankford told Knox News, the best thing boaters can do is keep track of the buoys that mark the navigable parts of waterways.
The agency fields more calls from boaters when the water levels are low, he said, but lower water levels are a regular occurrence since TVA lets them sink in the fall.
A boater navigates Douglas Lake on a rainy day in Dandridge on May 6. Given ongoing dry conditions, another eight inches of rain would be needed to get the lake up to typical water levels.
“We tend to have more groundings at those times,” he said by phone.
TWRA will help “if we can,” he said, but towing services also are available for stuck boaters.
Where are TVA’s waterways?
TVA generates power from these dams across the Tennessee Valley:
Apalachia | Blue Ridge | Boone | Chatuge | Cherokee | Chickamauga | Douglas | Fontana | Fort Loudoun | Fort Patrick Henry | Great Falls | Guntersville | Hiwassee | Kentucky | Melton Hill | Nickajack | Norris | Nottely | Ocoee 1 | Ocoee 2 | Ocoee 3 | Pickwick Landing | Raccoon Mountain | South Holston | Tims Ford | Watauga | Watts Bar | Wheeler | Wilbur | Wilson
These TVA waterways are used for recreation and flood control:
Bear Creek | Beaver Creek | Beech | Cedar | Cedar Creek | Clear Creek | Dogwood | Little Bear Creek | Lost Creek | Nolichucky | Normandy | Pin Oak | Pine | Redbud | Sycamore | Tellico | Upper Bear Creek
Mariah Franklin reports on technology and energy for Knox News. Email: mariah.franklin@knoxnews.com. Signal: mariahfranklin.01
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: TVA says lakes are safe to enjoy despite low levels. How low are they?
