By TVA and partners
By Steve Marion, Staff Writer, The Standard Banner, February 20, 2025
TVA and state, federal, and local partners working on the massive Douglas Lake cleanup project will host a second public meeting next Monday evening at Jefferson County High School.
Meanwhile, TVA officials say the effort is progressing, and rising lake levels from recent rains have not interfered with the work. TVA has also begun an underwater survey to identify any potential concerns due to sunken debris from tropical storm Helene.
Monday’s meeting at the high school auditorium (115 West Dumplin Valley Road, Dandridge) will be held from 6:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. It will include a presentation (6:30-7 p.m.) by agencies involved in the project, ranging from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) and the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation (TDEC). Citizen questions may be emailed ahead of time to TVA Interagency Outreach & Communications Lead Missy Hedgecoth at [email protected].
Initial work has taken place in the general area of the mile-wide protective boom TVA installed at Mile 11 near Swann’s Shoals upriver from the Town of Dandridge. The boom was removed on November 27 but could be redeployed in the event of an emergency. The boom prevented a one-mile-square debris field washed into the lake by tropical storm Helene from moving farther downstream.
Heavy equipment and barges have been used to gather and sort debris, with vegetative matter directed to burn piles and other debris trucked away to the Lakeway Recycling and Sanitation Landfill in Hamblen County. Burning of the vegetative debris has been taking place since late December.
Shady Grove access area remains temporarily closed to provide a staging area for heavy equipment. The site includes a crane used to place barges into the lake.
Significant rainfall in February (just under four inches in Dumplin Valley but more upstream) has pushed Douglas Lake more than 10 feet above its expected level for this time of year. The lake was at 970.46 feet above sea level early yesterday afternoon. So far, TVA officials reported, the rising waters have not hampered cleanup efforts.
At the end of September, Hurricane Helene diminished to a tropical storm that dumped torrential rain on the North Carolina mountains, where billions of dollars in property was destroyed and over 100 people lost their lives. In the midst of its late summer drawdown at the time, Douglas was languishing at 978 feet above sea level during the final full week of September. Helene punched it up nearly 21 feet to just over 999. TVA opened all 11 floodgates on Douglas September 28, eventually sending billions of gallons of floodwater downstream.
TDEC issued a “no contact” advisory for Douglas waters after Helene but lifted the advisory on January 15 after water testing.
Other agencies at work on the cleanup project include the Tennessee Department of Military, Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development, the Environmental Protection Agency, and Tennessee Emergency Managment.
On Monday, officials will respond to questions submitted in advance from 7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Information booths will be set up for citizens to visit during the remainder of the meeting.
