(SEVIERVILLE, Tenn.) SMOKIES.LIVE – The Tennessee Valley Authority said lake levels are running about where they should be for this time of year despite the drought.
Scott Brooks with TVA said rainfall is 68% of normal and runoff is even lower at 48% of normal for the calendar year to date.
“Most people won’t really notice much at this point on our reservoir system,” he said. “Reservoirs on the mainstem Tennessee River, which includes Fort Loudoun, are operating at normal levels.
According to Brooks, tributary reservoirs like Douglas are actually at or slightly above where they should be this time of year.
“We are being very conservative in our releases from these reservoirs to hold water for as long as we can,” he added. “That may change in the next week if we don’t see rain, to a point where we will be below normal on most reservoirs.”
TVA has to keep levels at a certain point downstream. Brooks said they will release water as needed to meet the minimum flow requirments.
While TVA has a goal to get reservoirs to summer pool by Memorial Day, Brooks said that will require significant rainfall between now and then.
“We remind everyone to check real-time levels and releases on our website and on our TVA Lake Level app, available on iphone and android,” said Brooks. “Those pages also include guide curves so people can see where levels are on each of our 49 reservoirs and how it compares to normal for this time of year.”
Douglas Lake on April 16, 2026, was running below normal for this time of year and so was Fontana in North Carolina.
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