Articles
There’s an App for That
Want to know what’s happening on the Tennessee River system? Need lake information at your fingertips? You’ve got it: just download TVA’s Lake Levels ap
February drenched the Valley with an average 11.6 inches of rain, shattering the previous 1939 all-time record of 10 inches. Across the region, thousands followed last month’s rain events by utilizing information from TVA’s River Forecast Center, as historic weather generated fast-flowing current on the Tennessee River.
While much-welcomed sunshine is now drying the Valley, runoff from saturated hills and hollows continues to flow through the river system. TVA’s River Forecast and Hydro Generation teams managed over 350 billion gallons last week. Since the New Year, they have managed more than 12 trillion gallons of runoff—amounts that are almost double the average.
“December was wet; January was wet; and February was record-setting,” said James Everett, manger River Forecast Center. “Thankfully, March is giving us a little break to move water through the system and get all our reservoirs in more normal ranges.”
Lake Level Forecast Technology
TVA’s river forecast technology is ever evolving, receiving over 7 million visits annually through the forecasting tva.com webpage, TVA’s standard 1-800 hotline and especially through its Lake Level mobile app, where the public can get instant access to the latest information involving lake level data and generation schedules.
February’s weather events produced a surge of traffic across the channels. On Feb. 24, the Lake Level mobile app received over 82,000 visits, while the Lake Level webpage hosted more than 71,000 visits. An average day for the two channels is about 5,000 visits each. In addition, TVA’s 1-800 hotline provided river forecasting data to more than 34,000 callers from Feb. 18-21.
Everett is, in particular, a big fan of the Lake Level app. “By providing instant access to valuable information, we’re giving people the ability to make informed decisions,” Everett said. “We have developed and refined the app to meet user needs and with mobile technology, it’s all at your fingertips.”
Lake Level Recreational Benefits
Lake level data consumption is not limited to flooding concerns. The popularity of the technology is driven largely by recreation.
“As I tuned into the recent Bassmaster tournament in Knoxville, it didn’t take long to hear the pros talking about lake levels, current and flow,” Everett said. “This is all information that we provide instantly to the public and pros alike.”
In addition to better angling opportunities, generation data provides invaluable information to whitewater rafters, as well as casual canoers who are looking to time the perfect weekend float—with less paddling!