{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox dam | name = Chickamauga Dam | image = Chickamauga Dam.jpg | image_caption = Chickamauga Dam | name_official = Chickamauga Dam | dam_crosses = [[Tennessee River]] | res_name = [[Chickamauga Lake]] | location = [[Chattanooga, Tennessee]], U.S. | operator = [[Tennessee Valley Authority]] | dam_length = {{convert|5800|ft|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="NPDP"/> | dam_height = {{convert|129|ft|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="NPDP"/> | dam_width_base = | construction_began = January 13, 1936 | opening = January 15, 1940 | res_capacity_total ={{convert|737300|acre feet|dam3|abbr=on}}<ref name="NPDP">{{cite web|url=http://ce-npdp-serv2.stanford.edu/DamDirectory/DamDetail.jsp?npdp_id=TN06504|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121214230014/http://ce-npdp-serv2.stanford.edu/DamDirectory/DamDetail.jsp?npdp_id=TN06504|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-12-14|title=Chickamauga Dam|publisher=Stanford University|work=National Performance of Dams Program, National Inventory of Dams|accessdate=2012-10-10}}</ref> | res_catchment ={{convert|20790|mi2|km2|abbr=on}}<ref name="NPDP"/> | coordinates = {{coord|35|06|14|N|85|13|46|W|type:landmark|display=inline,title}} | extra = }}
The '''Chickamauga Dam''' is a [[hydroelectric dam]] on the [[Tennessee River]] in [[Chattanooga]], [[Tennessee]], United States. The dam is owned and operated by the [[Tennessee Valley Authority]], which built the dam in the late 1930s as part of a [[New Deal]] era initiative to improve navigation and bring [[flood control]] and economic development to the Tennessee Valley. The dam impounds the {{convert|36240|acre|ha|adj=on}} [[Chickamauga Lake]] and feeds into [[Nickajack Lake]]. The dam and associated infrastructure were listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 2017.
Chickamauga Dam is named for the Chickamaugas, a politically detached branch of the [[Cherokee]] whose chief village was located just north of the dam site during the 18th century.<ref name=TVAfact>[http://www.tva.com/sites/chickamauga.htm TVA: Chickamauga Reservoir] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150822220249/http://www.tva.com/sites/chickamauga.htm |date=2015-08-22 }} fact sheet, TVA website</ref> The tribe's name has also been applied to several streams in the Chattanooga area, as well as an important [[Battle of Chickamauga|American Civil War battle]] and a [[sandbar]] that existed at the dam site prior to its construction.<ref name=book1>Tennessee Valley Authority, ''The Chickamauga Project: A Comprehensive Report on the Planning, Design, Construction, and Initial Operations of the Chickamauga Project'', Technical Report No. 6 (Knoxville, Tenn.: Tennessee Valley Authority, 1942), 1-12, 41-43, 49, 246.</ref>
==Location==
Chickamauga Dam is located {{convert|471|mi|km}} upstream from the mouth of the Tennessee River, just east of downtown Chattanooga at the river's confluence with North [[Chickamauga Creek]]. The reservoir stretches for {{convert|59|mi|km}} from Chickamauga Dam to the base of [[Watts Bar Dam]], and includes parts of [[Hamilton County, Tennessee|Hamilton]], [[Bradley County, Tennessee|Bradley]], [[McMinn County, Tennessee|McMinn]], [[Rhea County, Tennessee|Rhea]], and [[Meigs County, Tennessee|Meigs]] counties. The reservoir's notable [[embayment]]s include Harrison Bay at its confluence with Wolftever Creek approximately {{convert|10|mi|km}} upstream from the dam and the Soddy Creek embayment at {{convert|20|mi|km}} upstream. Along with its main Tennessee River channel, the reservoir is navigable across the lower {{convert|18|mi|km}} of the [[Hiwassee River]], which joins the Tennessee River {{convert|30|mi|km}} above the dam.<ref name=book1 />
The [[Wilkes T. Thrasher Bridge]] carries [[Tennessee State Route 153]] across the top of Chickamauga Dam. The road connects the dam to [[Interstate 75]] to the south and [[U.S. Route 27]] to the north. The [[Tennessee Riverwalk]], a {{convert|10|mi|km|adj=on}} walkway along the Tennessee River, begins at the dam.
There is also a [https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?params=35_06_42.7_N_85_13_57.2_W water tower] notably close to the site.
[[Image:Chickamauga Dam generator hall.jpg|thumb|Generator hall of the powerhouse]]
==Capacity== Chickamauga Dam is a [[concrete]] gravity-type dam {{convert|5800|ft|m}} long and {{convert|129|ft|m}} high.<ref name=TVAfact/> Its [[hydroelectric]] generating capacity is 119 [[megawatt]]s.<ref name=TVAfact/> The dam has 18 spillway bays with a combined discharge of {{convert|470000|cuft/s}}.<ref name=book1 />
A {{convert|60|by|360|ft|m|adj=on}} [[Lock (water transport)|navigation lock]] allows [[barge]]s and other boats to travel past the dam, raising or lowering vessels {{convert|53|ft|m}} between Chickamauga and Nickajack reservoirs.<ref name=TVAfact/>
==Background and construction== [[File:Tennessee - Chattanooga - NARA - 68148960 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Chickamauga Dam in 1940]] [[Image:Chickamauga-dam-plan-tva1.jpg|upright=1.35|thumb|Design plan for Chickamauga Dam, circa 1935]] The [[U.S. Army Corps of Engineers]] surveyed the Chickamauga Island site in the 1920s as a possible site for a dam to protect Chattanooga, which had suffered serious flood damage in 1867, 1875, 1886, and 1917, and to enhance navigation along the river. When the [[Tennessee Valley Authority]] (TVA) was formed in the mid-1930s, it assumed control of navigation and flood control operations in the Tennessee Valley. After extensive surveying, TVA chose the tip of Chickamauga Island over several other sites surveyed by the Army Corps in the vicinity. The Chickamauga project was authorized December 31, 1935, and dam construction began January 13, 1936.<ref name=book1 />
[[Image:Chattanooga-1867-flood-tva1.jpg|left|upright=1.2|thumb|Map showing the parts (shaded) of downtown Chattanooga flooded when the Tennessee River broke its banks in March 1867]]
The construction of Chickamauga Dam and its reservoir required the purchase of {{convert|61350|acre|ha}} of land, {{convert|6030|acre|ha}} of which were wooded and had to be cleared. 903 families, 24 cemeteries, and {{convert|81|mi|km}} of roads had to be relocated. An embankment was built to protect parts of [[Dayton, Tennessee]] from the reservoir's backwaters, and several roads and buildings in the town of [[Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee|Soddy]] were relocated or modified. A total of 39 bridges affected by the reservoir were either raised or moved.<ref name=book1 />
The navigation lock at Chickamauga Dam was designed by the Army Corps of Engineers, and was based on the lock design at [[Guntersville Dam]]. The lock was initially {{convert|60|x|360|ft|m}}, although the dam was designed in a way that allowed a larger {{convert|110|x|600|ft|m}} lock to be installed if increases in river traffic ever required it.<ref name=book1 />
Chickamauga Dam was completed and its gates closed on January 15, 1940, constructed at a cost of $42,065,000 (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|42065000|1940}}}} in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP}}). The lock was placed into operation on February 26, 1940, and the first generator went online May 4, 1940. Two recreational areas— [[Booker T. Washington State Park (Tennessee)|Booker T. Washington State Park]] and [[Harrison Bay State Park]]— were developed as [[Racial segregation in the United States|segregated]] parks along Chickamauga Lake's shores, with the former originally being for [[African Americans]] and the latter originally being for [[white people|caucasians]].<ref name=book1 />
==Renovations==
By the early 2000s, the concrete of the original lock had deteriorated due to "[[Alkali–aggregate reaction|concrete growth]]" caused by [[chemical reaction]]s between its constituent [[cement]] and [[Rock (geology)|rock]] [[Construction aggregate|aggregate]]. A $375 million project to replace the lock began in 2003. The new {{convert|110|by|660|ft|m|adj=on}} lock was scheduled to be completed by 2014.<ref>[http://timesfreepress.com/news/2008/aug/11/chattanooga-new-lock-takes-shape-chickamauga-dam/ New lock takes shape at Chickamauga Dam] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210035538/http://timesfreepress.com/news/2008/aug/11/chattanooga-new-lock-takes-shape-chickamauga-dam/ |date=2012-02-10 }}, ''[[Chattanooga Times Free Press]]'', August 11, 2008</ref> Progress was hampered, however, by lack of funding due to the depletion of the [[Inland Waterways Trust Fund]] that finances [[U.S. Army Corps of Engineers]] work on river navigation infrastructure. Some $52 million in additional funding was made available for the project under the [[American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009]]. By 2013, $183 million had been spent, the total estimated cost of the project had grown to $693 million as a result of delays and increasing costs for construction materials, and an additional five years of work was estimated to remain. The existing lock was expected to become unsafe for continued use some time before 2023.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2013/feb/09/project-locks-up/ |date=February 9, 2013 |title=Chickamauga Dam project locks up: Material ready for new lock but money short for $693 million project |newspaper=Chattanooga Times Free Press |author=Dave Flessner}}</ref> As of June 2024, completion of lock repairs is expected by November 2026.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.lrd.usace.army.mil/Submit-ArticleCS/Projects/Article/3812399/chickamauga-lock-replacement-project/ |date=June 20, 2024 |title=Chickamauga Lock Replacement Project | author=Nashville District, US Army Corps of Engineers}}</ref>
In October 2004 TVA installed a new warning system to alert individuals downstream when the dam is releasing water. The warning measures include strobe lights, signs and alarm horns.<ref>{{Cite news|url =http://www.waterpowermagazine.com/news/newssafety-system-for-chickamauga-dam |title = International Water Power & Dam Construction|date = October 2004}}</ref>
TVA conducts periodic maintenance on Chickamauga Dam using saw-cut expansion holes, a type of [[expansion joint]] used in concrete construction. In 2010, engineering contractor S&ME used a Geoprobe drill to open and repair the expansion holes and cut new joints.<ref>{{Cite news|url = http://www.nationaldriller.com|title = Drilling Expansion Holes For the Chickamauga Dam|date = June 2010|access-date = 2021-07-05|archive-date = 2020-11-24|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201124010954/https://www.nationaldriller.com/|url-status = dead}}</ref>
== Recreation == The Riverpark Area at the Chickamauga Dam has a boat ramp, fishing piers, day-use areas, restrooms, shelter rentals, and walking and biking trails.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chickamauga Dam {{!}} Hamilton County Parks and Recreation, TN |url=https://parks.hamiltontn.gov/201/Chickamauga-Dam-Section |access-date=2022-11-03 |website=parks.hamiltontn.gov}}</ref> On the shoals, below the dam, fisherman use conventional and fly tackle to fish for striped bass, large mouth bass, and small mouth bass.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-04-21 |title=Chickamauga Dam Fishing (Chattanooga) |url=https://advguides.com/destinations/chattanooga-adventures/chickamauga-dam-fishing-chattanooga/ |access-date=2022-11-03 |website=The Adventure Collective |language=en-US}}</ref>
==See also== {{Portal|United States|Water|Renewable energy}} * [[Hales Bar Dam]] * [[Dams and reservoirs of the Tennessee River]] * [[List of crossings of the Tennessee River]] * [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Hamilton County, Tennessee]]
==References== {{Reflist}} *{{cite web | url={{Gnis3|1280433}} | title=Chickamauga Dam | work=[[Geographic Names Information System]] | publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]] | accessdate=2006-05-02 }}
==External links== {{Commons category|Chickamauga Dam}} *[https://www.tva.com/energy/our-power-system/hydroelectric/chickamauga TVA: Chickamauga Reservoir]
{{Tennessee River Dams}} {{Chattanooga, Tennessee landmarks}} {{Tennessee Valley Authority Facilities}} {{Authority control}}
[[Category:Dams on the Tennessee River]] [[Category:Dams in Tennessee]] [[Category:Hydroelectric power plants in Tennessee]] [[Category:Tennessee Valley Authority dams]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Chattanooga, Tennessee]] [[Category:Dams completed in 1940]] [[Category:Energy infrastructure completed in 1940]] [[Category:Historic districts in Tennessee]] [[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Hamilton County, Tennessee]] [[Category:Dams on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee]] [[Category:1940 establishments in Tennessee]]