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Drought Conditions and Reservoir Impacts

Rainfall and runoff deficits can impact the Tennessee River or its tributaries.

TVA manages the Tennessee River for flood control. But there’s another side to that work. In dry years, making the best use of available water is critical to preserve water quality, maintain aquatic life, support navigation and meet regional water needs.

The Tennessee Valley watershed experiences periodic droughts of varying severity and duration. Extreme rainfall and runoff deficits can impact TVA’s ability to maintain seasonal reservoir elevations and meet downstream flow requirements.

Drought conditions are listed as abnormal (D0), moderate (D1), severe (D2), extreme (D3) and exceptional (D4).

When the Tennessee Valley watershed begins experiencing widespread drought conditions of D2 or greater, or D4 drought conditions exists, TVA will provide a high-level look at reservoir elevations and rainfall and runoff. This information will be updated weekly during times of widespread drought.

Note: If the drought map release date is older than one week, please refresh the map.

Reservoir Elevation Status

TVA reservoir elevation status dashboard

System Rainfall and Runoff

System rainfall and runoff graph

Additional Resources

Current drought-related statuses and information can be obtained at the following resources.

National Information

State Information