DANDRIDGE, Tenn. (WATE) — One year after Helene devastated parts of East Tennessee, Tennessee Valley Authority is looking back on its role in managing the floodwaters.
From September 26-29 last year, Douglas Lake rose more than 21 feet. Douglas Dam stored 182 billion gallons of water, enough to fill 661 Neyland Stadiums.
Erik Bodiscomassink, plant manager at the dam, said no one could have expected how much rainfall the area would see.
TVA estimates flood mitigation efforts prevented $400M of damage from Hurricane Helene
“We prepare for this. We train for this. But the amount of water that came over, my guys here at Douglas, we were here until about 3 that next Saturday morning,” he said…