CHICKAMAUGA RIVER & DAM
all photos by CDaniels
TEACHER ACTIVITIES:
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Teachers will visit the Tennessee
Valley Authority's Energy Center located on Market Street in downtown
Chattanooga. They will learn through exhibits and hands-on models
how TVA operates to generate power for all of the Tennessee Valley.
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Teachers will evaluate the different renewable and nonrenewable
energy sources used by TVA to generate electricity such as hydropower,
nuclear power, and fossil fuels.
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While walking along on Walnut Street Bridge over the Chickamauga River
in downtown Chattanooga, teachers will be discussing the Tennessee Valley
Authority's system of dams, locks, and reservoirs and their impact on the
Tennessee River System.
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The discussion of TVA's power generation operations will continue as
teachers travel to the site of Chickamauga Dam.
FACTS TO LEARN:
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TVA operates an integrated system of dams, locks, and reservoirs in
the Tennessee River watershed. This system is used for navigation, control
flooding, and produce hydropower. What is hydroelectric
power? Hydropower is the U.S.’s most reliable, efficient, and
economical renewable source of power.
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TVA manages the watershed.
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It tracks the levels of the water as they rise and fall in the reservoirs
throughout the day.
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TVA controls retention and release of water from its nine dams.
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TVA monitors the quality of the water in the Tennessee River system
and balances the water with other demands on the river system.
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Pollution regulations are set by each of the Valley states that share
the river and the EPA and not by TVA.
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TVA rates the condition of each reservoir based on ecological indicators
such as fish populations, tailwater conditions (tailwater is the
area below a dam), dissolved oxygen levels, and other monitoring activities.
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TVA puts heated water into the river from the operation of its coal
and nuclear plants. The water is treated and released within the limits
set by a permit from the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System.
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All of TVA’s power generation facilities hold discharge permits.
Each permit is very specific with discharge limits set at levels to protect
human health and aquatic life.
Views from Walnut
Street Pedestrian Bridge.
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At Chicamauga Dam seven miles from Walnut Street Bridge, teachers
will be asked:
What conditions arise from hydropower production that are harmful to
fish and other aquatic life?
Two conditions arising from hydropower production are low levels of
dissolved oxygen in the area just below a dam (called the tailwater), and
dry streambeds that result when hydro generation is shut off.
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