TVA to open dams to improve record low river levels

The Tennessee Valley Authority plans to open Kentucky and Barkley Dams to help raise the low river levels on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers.

According to TVA’s Facebook page, they will be scheduling "special water releases” from Kentucky Dam on the Tennessee River and Barkley Dam on the Cumberland River.

No details on the amount or timetable of the releases was given.

They said they hope to stabilize commercial navigation conditions on the lower Ohio and the mid-Mississippi.

Because of below-normal rainfall across the midwest, the Mississippi River at Cairo is approaching 6.5 feet, its lowest river level since 1901. The river at Memphis fell to 10.71 feet Tuesday, the lowest since record keeping began in 1890.




(Photo: Tennessee Valley Authority Facebook)