Frank Hahne’s grandchildren enjoy a day on Boone Lake. The lake is now at summer pool of 1382 feet.
The final phase of construction work began at Boone Dam in July with crest restoration and floodwall construction.
Project Starts Final Construction Phase for Flood Protection
While many folks are out enjoying Boone Lake at summer pool levels (1382 feet), our crews are hard at work on the final construction push at Boone Dam. TVA is constructing a floodwall and restoring the crest of the earthen dam. “We had to shave off ten feet of the earthen dam for the (cutoff wall) project,” said Technical Director Chris Saucier. “Now we are restoring that to permanently provide the same elevation of flood protection as that which existed before October 2014.”
All evaluations of the new cutoff wall show it is performing as expected. TVA will begin draw down after Labor Day according to the normal operating guide curve.
Saucier said the work will be completed next spring (2022). The new floodwall will be over 800 feet long and 10 feet tall. He said the Boone Dam site will be restored for the public “better than we found it” including the beach area and picnic pavilion.
Crystal Bishop at a recent TVA fly fishing event at the South Holston tailwater.
Lesley Rogers and Crystal Bishop on a walking tour and inspection of Boone Dam.
Boone Dam’s Water Permitting Specialist: Right At Home on Boone Lake
Crystal Bishop has worked with TVA just seven months, but she’s already fallen in love with the beauty of Boone Lake and Boone Dam. “It’s gorgeous here,” says the Tennessee Tech Wildlife and Fisheries Science graduate. She even had an opportunity to go out on the boats with TVA Fisheries biologists recently as they studied the fish health of Boone Lake.
Bishop says that on the Boone Restoration project she works and collaborates with the US Army Corps of Engineers and the state of Tennessee in order to ensure construction activities comply with environmental regulations. “I support the project through compliance and water related permits. We want to make sure TVA is a good steward of the watersheds we help manage.” Bishop works closely with project environmental lead, Lesley Rogers.
In addition to her duties at the Boone project, she supports the hydro facility and the South Holston dam and weir dam and recently saw Watauga get its water permit renewed.
Prior to joining TVA, she worked with county government in Hamilton County as stormwater manager and she worked for the city of Franklin in stormwater.
Bishop enjoys fishing and being outside. She holds her master’s degree in Biology from Middle Tennessee State University.
Jennifer Dodd, General Manager, Dam Safety and Veronica Barredo, Senior Program Manager, Civil Engineering, were recognized by the United States Society on Dams for their contribution to the industry.
Boone Dam Leaders Recognized by United States Society on Dams
Two industry leaders who worked on the Boone Dam project are featured in the Dams and Levees Bulletin from the US Society on Dams. Jennifer Dodd and Veronica Barredo were interviewed about the project and their fascinating careers in dam safety in the issue which features stories of Industry-leading women. Read the full interview.
Chris Saucier provided a Boone Dam progress update for TVA retirees recently along with an update on the George Grant Outdoor Program.
Cord Wordlaw (center) leads the Boone Dam vegetation management team in its lake cleanup efforts and partnerships with Boone Lake neighbor groups.
Cord Wordlaw shows before and after photos of the successful Boone Lake debris cleanup program.
Boone Dam Public Outreach Continues
Boone Dam Technical Director Chris Saucier was a featured guest on the George Grant Outdoor Program on WFHG Radio on July 17. In addition to providing a project update, Chris urged Grant’s many outdoors-oriented listeners to exercise caution when boating and to be aware of changing lake conditions. Chris thanked George for the public opportunity to discuss projects like Boone Dam that may spur young listeners to enter the engineering profession.
Also, Cord Wordlaw spoke to the Rotary Club of Kingsport Downtown on July 22. Cord discussed how TVA worked in partnership with the Boone Lake Association and the Boone Dam Repair Coalition to identify and cleanup challenging areas of Boone Lake. Cord showed a series of “before” and “after” photos of the lake cleanup efforts.
Going Quarterly!
Now that the Boone Dam project is winding down, this publication will move to quarterly. Look for us in your inbox in November. As always, we will keep our Boone Dam website up-to-date and provide any late breaking news on our Boone Repair Twitter channel.
This newsletter is published monthly to keep TVA’s stakeholders informed about activities associated with work on the earthen embankment at Boone Dam.
