Principal Project Manager Sam Vinson and Senior Construction Manager Kevin Holbrook hosted local media Sept. 6 at Boone Dam. Vinson provided an update on the vegetation management program and Holbrook showed media the construction progress.

Both managers said the top three priorities for the Boone Dam Repair project remain unchanged since they were stated in July 2015 public meeting; safety of the downstream public, safety of the workers, and quality of the repair.

More than a million man hours have been worked onsite, with the underground cutoff wall still on track for completion in spring 2021. Operations are now underway 24-hours per day, five days per week. Reservoir testing will take place in spring 2021 when the lake level fluctuations will begin. Holbrook said the reservoir will be returned to normal operations July 2022.

Holbrook noted there have been 28 production elements, 22 castings, eight pilot holes, and 11 total elements completed on the project to date.

Vinson explained that nearly 650 acres have been mulched, which is 100 acres more than the original 512 that was planned, and TVA will continue to evaluate new areas to be mulched next year. The vegetation management mulching is taking place onsite near Boone Beach, and members of the media were able to see the location during their visit.

During the vegetation management portion of the project, Vinson said there have been zero safety or environmental incidents, more than 250 email responses, 75 phone calls, and 200 door hangars to notify residents of the progress and updates on the areas that will not be mulched. Vinson said vegetation will not be hand cut.
 

Board members from both the Boone Lake Association and the Boone Watershed Partnership visited TVA’s River Forecast Center in Knoxville Sept. 5, to learn about how TVA manages waterflow in the valley. James Everett, River Forecast Center Senior Manager, answered the frequently asked question “Why can’t you leave Boone Lake up for an extended period of time once the project is completed?”

Because Boone Lake actually plays a very important role in flood storage, not only for communities along the Holston River, like Kingsport, but for the entire Tennessee Valley. Everett said that because of the large area of land and terrain that drains into Boone Lake, there is very little time to respond once heavy rains materialize into runoff.  The winter months are a time of year when runoff is typically much greater which is why TVA must allow flood storage space in the lake in case of a flood event.

Clay Guerry, Recreation Strategy Specialist, provided guests with an economic impact update and a synopsis of the 2017 University of Tennessee study of TVA Recreational shoreline value. Guerry told the guests that recreation, particularly boating and fishing, equates to big business. He said that each mile of shoreline produces roughly a million dollars per mile of recreational value for visitors.

Val Kosmider, BLA President, sent an email thanking TVA for the opportunity to visit and observe operations at the Center. “I speak for the group when I say it was educational and informative,” Kosmider said.  “With a storm working just outside your coverage area, and a heat wave in your jurisdiction, it was a good day for us to observe and listen.”