managing the tennessee olson & wright morton
TRANSCRIPT
Managing the Tennessee and Cumberland River Landscapes
Kenneth R. Olson and Lois Wright Morton
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Legend
1900 km
Ancient Rivers
State Borders
Great Lakes
Land
LakeMichigan
Ancient IllinoisRiver
Ancient TeaysRiver
Ancient OhioRiver
Ancient TeaysRiver
AncientOhioRiver
AncientTennessee River
Ancient Cumberland River
AncientMississippi
River
AncientMississippi
River
AncientMississippi
River
Ancient TeaysRiver
Lake Erie
AncientTennesseeRiver
Ancient Cumberland River Valley
• The ancient Cumberland River carried snowmelt and precipitation runoff water from the Appalachian uplands and drained into the Ancient Ohio River.
• The Green and Cumberland rivers were the main ancient Ohio River tributaries and the Wabash, White and Vermillion rivers were blocked by glacial ice dams and north drained into the ancient Teays River Valley.
Illinois
Alabama Georgia
Mississippi
Missouri
ArkansasTennessee
Kentucky Virginia
NorthCarolina
West Virginia
SouthCarolina
Illinois
Missouri
Arkansas
Mississippi
Kentucky
Tennessee
Alabama
Georgia
Virginia
North Carolina
Rivers
Dams
Cities
South Carolina
Reservoirs
Paducah
Nashville
Memphis Chattanooga
Jackson
Ohio River
Cumberland River CumberlandRiver
CumberlandLake
HolstonRiver
ClinchRiver
Duck River
PickwickLake
WheelerLake
J. PercyPriest Lake
DaleHollow Cherokee
Lake
DouglasLake
NorrisLake
CenterHill
Blue RidgeLake
NottelyLake
GuntersvilleLake
TennesseeRiver
FrenchBroadRiver
TennesseeRiver
TennesseeRiver
MississippiRiver
KentuckyReservoir
Barkley Reservoir
CheathamLake
Old HickoryLock and Dam
Cordell Hull NavigationLocks and Dam
KnoxvilleWatts
Bar Dam
Tennessee River
• Created by the confluence of the French Broad and Holston Rivers near Knoxville, TN
• The Tennessee river basin originates in the Appalachian Mountains of eastern US.
• Tennessee River was the western boundary of the land open for settlement in 1818.
Mouth of the Tennessee River
• Paducah, Kentucky is at the confluence of the Tennessee and Ohio Rivers
• Paducah was protected from the 1884, 1913 and 1927 floods by earthen levees.
• However, the earthen levees were inadequate during the 1937 flood and entire town was flooded.
Chattanooga Campaign, Nov. 23‐25, 1863
• During the Civil War, General Grant pushed the Confederate troops away from Outlook Mountain, Tennessee River and Chattanooga.
• Chattanooga became the base camp for Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign.
Tennessee Valley in 1930s and 1940s
• The 1937 flood was a disaster of unparalleled magnitude for Paducah and thousands of people were displaced.
• President Franklin Roosevelt proposed the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and it passed congress in 1933.
• A corporation with the power of government and flexibility and initiative of a private enterprise.
Construction of the Kentucky Dam
• The Kentucky dam is 22 miles from mouth of Tennessee River.• It empties into the Ohio River on east side of Paducah, Kentucky.• Started in 1938 and completed in 1944.• Lowermost of 9 dams on the Tennessee River.
Navigation on the Tennessee River
• By the end of WWII, TVA had created a 652 mile navigation channel the length of the Tennessee River using its system of dams and locks.
• The use of barges reduced shipping cost by $500 million a year and resulted in lower prices for consumers. Railroads had to reduce cost to stay competitive.
Watts Bar lock and dam
• Constructed in 1939. Dam is 112 feet high.• Provides navigation and hydroelectric power.• Nuclear Power Plant was constructed from 1976 to 1996.
Cumberland River
• Cumberland River flowed out of the Appalachian Mountains near Virginia
• The Cumberland River starts at Harland, Kentucky.• The ancient Cumberland River parallels the ancient Tennessee River for over 100 miles.
• The ancient Tennessee River channel is where the current Ohio River is located.
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OhioRiver
MississippiRiver
CacheRiver
CacheRiver
BayCreek
MainDitch
BayCreek
KentuckyReservoir
Dam
CumberlandRiver
13 Miles
20 km
Kentucky
Illinois
Illinois
Missouri
Kentucky
Paducah
ReevesvilleLevee
BreachCape
Girardeau
Commerce
AncientOhio River Valley
MillerCity
Len SmallLevee
CommerceBirds Point
LeveeBirds Point-New Madrid
Floodway
Gate
Cairo
BirdsPoint
OliveBranch
Karnak
Missouri
Diversion
HorseshoeLake
Breach
MississippiRiver
Old CacheRiver
PostCreekCutoff
Kentucky
OhioRiver
TennesseeRiver
Kentucky, Illinois, andMissouri Alluvial BottomLands
Kentucky, Illinois, andMissouri Uplands
Water, Lake, Reservoir,Major River, Canal
Breach
Levee
Towns
River, Main Ditch,Cut-off, Diversion
Legend
Cumberland River ‐ Navigation
• In 1825 increasing steamboat trade led the Tennessee legislature to petition Congress for a survey of the Cumberland River.
• Congress appropriated $155,000 for river improvements including snag clearing and wing dams to deepen the channel.
• 1871 the USACE surveyed the river and recommended dam locations and river management.
• 1936 USACE selected sites for 4 reservoirs on Cumberland and tributaries.
• During the 1950s and 1960s to additional reservoirs were built, the Cheatham and Barkley.
Flood of 1937
• The most destructive flooding in the Cumberland basin occurred in 1937.
• The federal response included passing the Flood Control Act of 1938 and lead to the construction of upstream dams and reservoirs include some on the Cumberland River and tributaries.
Barkley dam and reservoir
• Between 1958 and 1963 about 1400 Kentucky and Tennessee families were moved from their homes along the Cumberland River.
• The Barkley Dam was constructed by the USACE across Cumberland River. Work was completed in 1966.
• The Dam is 157 feet high and can store 2,082,000 acre‐feet. Lake Barkley has an area of 58,000 acres.
• The Barkley dam is used to generate hydroelectricity.
Barkley canal
• The Kentucky and Barkley reservoirs are connected by the Barkley shipping canal.
• The Barkley canal helps keep the surface levels at a similar elevation.• Water releases are timed to maintain the water levels in the two lakes within one foot.
Land Between the Lakes
• The Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers run parallel for more than 100 miles and flow north to the Ohio River.
• The Land Between the Lakes is between 1 and 10 miles wide.• Between 1963 and 1968, about 3000 people moved from their homes in the area between the lakes and it became a national recreation area.
• The area is 170,000 acres in size making it the largest peninsula in US.
Conclusions
• TVA established an integrated approach to address power production, navigation, flood control, malaria prevention, reforestation and erosion control.
• Even by Depression standards the Tennessee valley and its people were in bad shape in 1933.
• Much of the land was eroded and degraded. • Soil productivity had been reduced and crop yields had dropped.• TVA taught farmers how to improve crop yields and help replant forests.
Conclusions – Managing Extremes
• Construction of the Kentucky and Barkley reservoirs allows the USACE to store water and release during a drought.
• During the 2012 drought the USACE were able to add an extra 4 feet of water above the 9 foot shipping channel for a number of months which reduced to need for dredging.
• During the flood of 2011, the USACE was able to initially hold back the Tennessee River and Cumberland River floodwaters to reduce the peak on the Ohio River.
• Eventually, the Barkley and Kentucky lakes filled and USACE was forced to release excess floodwater.