DANDRIDGE — Due to flooding from Hurricane Helene in the North Carolina mountains and parts of Tennessee, a large field of floating debris has accumulated in Douglas Reservoir in Sevier and Jefferson counties — the inflow point from the Nolichucky, Pigeon and French Broad rivers and other watersheds.
The debris field on Douglas is approximately one square mile in size and moving one mile per day downstream toward Douglas Dam. To help contain the debris, TVA has deployed a one-mile wide boom across Douglas Reservoir above the town of Dandridge. This is one of the largest boom deployments of its kind in TVA’s history. A boom is a floating barrier that captures surface and submerged debris in bodies of water.
The boom extends across the entire lake surface at Mile 11 at Swanns Shoals upriver from downtown Dandridge and will be in place until further notice. Deployment of the boom is intended to help protect water supply intakes and other infrastructure downstream of the debris mat and ensure TVA’s ability to continue flood control and normal operations at Douglas Dam.