Power Generation, Flood Control, and Other Purposes
The Douglas Dam powerhouse is a hydroelectric power producer with four large water turbines that drive four large electric generators. Their combined peak electric power-production capacity is 165,600 kilowatts.
In addition to hydroelectric generation, there are several secondary purposes of the Douglas dam and reservoir. One of these is flood control for the French Broad River and also for the Tennessee River downstream. Douglas Lake has a total capacity of roughly 1,461,000 acre·ft (1,802,000 dam³) of water, of which 1,081,880 acre feet (1,334,480 dam³) is reserved for flood control.
The water stored in Douglas Lake serves an important purpose during extended dry periods and droughts in East Tennessee and western North Carolina. Then, water is released from this and other dams on the upper tributaries of the Tennessee River in order to maintain an eight-foot-deep navigation channel for barges on the inland waterway of the river from Knoxville down to its mouth at the Ohio River. If it were not for these releases of water, parts of the Tennessee River would become unnavigable. Furthermore, the water that is released is then available for all the drinking-water supplies of cities and towns downstream, and in addition, it is available for watering farms during the droughts.
Another secondary purpose of the Douglas Dam and Douglas Lake is for recreational boating, swimming, and fishing. Significant amounts of freshwater fish are caught in Douglas Lake as part of the food supply for human beings. Douglas Lake has an average of 500 miles (800 km) of shoreline, and it has an average surface area of nearly 30,000 acres (120 square kilometers), with both measurements varying according to the seasonally changing water level of Douglas Lake.
Douglas Lake is the recreational destination for up to two million visitors per year. Primary uses of the lake and its shores are fishing, boating, water skiing, swimming, camping, hiking, and wildlife observing. In addition to a number of private campgrounds in this area, TVA provides the Douglas Dam Headwater Campground and the Douglas Dam Tailwater Campground for public use. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency stocks Douglas Lake tens of thousands of sauger and crappie fish each year to thrive and then provide recreational and food fishing.
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