Abstract:
The Tennessee Valley Authority is a federal agency created in 1933 to improve the quality of life in the Tennessee Valley during the Great Depression. Today, TVA owns 49 dams which provide navigation, flood control, power generation and encourages economic development within the region. After the 2008 failure of TVA's Kingston ash dike, TVA transformed its dam safety program. This presentation will take you on the journey of how TVA's dam safety program evolved, including discussion of our dam stewardship responsibilities, establishing strong programmatic controls, understanding dam risk to the public, and reducing dam risk through dam rehabilitation. You will also see, from an owner's perspective, how TVA's paradigm shift has recently influenced effective partnerships with constructors while establishing the right balance of controls on the recent and successful installation at Boone Dam of a seepage barrier wall through the dam and deep into its karst foundation.