South Holston Reservoir Land Management Plan

Reservoir Land Management Plans (RLMPs) effectively guide land use approvals, private water use facility permitting, and resource management decisions on TVA-managed public land.

South Holston Reservoir is one of seven tributary reservoirs included in the Northeastern Tributary RLMP project, which was approved by the TVA Board of Directors in June 2010.

South Holston Reservoir is an impoundment of the South Fork Holston River formed by South Holston Dam, which is located at South Fork Holston River mile 49.8. South Holston Reservoir is located in Sullivan County, Tennessee and Washington County, Virginia.

South Holston is popular for scuba diving because of its depth and clarity. There is also plenty to see and do in the Cherokee National Forest, which surrounds 60 percent of the lake’s shoreline. The aerating labyrinth weir below South Holston Dam has multiple benefits- chief among them creating the oxygen-rich water that has fostered a world-class trout fishery.

Scope

The scope of the South Holston RLMP is 2,270 acres of the 4,932 total acres of TVA public land in the Northeastern Tributary RLMP. The South Holston RLMP contains a regional overview, information about the environment around the reservoir and descriptions of each parcel of land. South Holston Reservoir property is divided into 80 parcels, and each parcel is assigned a single land use allocation zone. Descriptions of the allowable land uses within each land planning zone are available here.

South Holston Reservoir Land Management Plan

Maps

Use the GIS Viewer Map to find individual parcels and land use allocations for TVA reservoir property.  Click on individual parcels to find out more information about a piece of TVA property.  Please note that parcel descriptions are included in the interactive map viewer for convenience, but may have been altered from the original description due to character length restrictions.  Please reference the appropriate Reservoir Land Management Plan for the complete parcel descriptions.  Also, please note that parcel descriptions are representative of the time in which the plans were written; some information may be out of date such as available facilities or names of commercial operations.

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How to Use the Viewer Map (PDF)

Allocation Changes

After approval of an RLMP by TVA, all future uses of TVA public lands on that reservoir must then be consistent with the allocations within the RLMP. In accordance with TVA policies and guidelines, allocation changes are only allowable under limited circumstances. The attachment at the link below describes the land use allocation changes that have occurred on South Holston Reservoir since the 2010 RLMP was completed.

South Holston Allocation Changes

Land Allocation Acreage

TVA land around South Holston Reservoir has been allocated for certain land
uses as summarized in the table below.