Management of River System Flows

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) operates a system of 49 dams and reservoirs in the Tennessee River and Cumberland River watersheds of the southeastern United States. TVA operates this system for the purposes of navigation, flood control and power production; management of water supply, water quality and aquatic habitat; and recreation and other public benefits. TVA, created by the U.S. Congress under the TVA Act of 1933, is the largest public power supplier in the U.S. and is fully self-financed with no federal appropriations. The Tennessee River is the only basin in the U.S. that is operated by a single agency, TVA, to achieve basin-wide water management objectives. TVA implements a reservoir operations policy that integrates the entire 110,000-square-kilometer basin through balancing competing demands on the system and overall value to the public. The operating guide, most recently established in the 2004 Reservoir Operations Study, provides seasonal variations in flood storage and guides river management decisions in all hydrologic conditions throughout the year