J. Percy Priest Dam is a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

in north central

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

at river mile 6.8 of the

Stones River The Stones River (properly spelled Stone's River) is a major stream of the eastern portion of Tennessee's Nashville Basin region. It is named after explorer and longhunter Uriah Stone, who navigated the river in 1767. Geography and hydrography T ...

, a tributary of the

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

. It is located about ten miles (16 km) east of downtown

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

. The

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

behind the dam is

Percy Priest Lake J. Percy Priest Lake is a reservoir in north central part of Tennessee. It is formed by J. Percy Priest Dam, located between miles six and seven of the Stones River. The dam (easily visible from Interstate 40) is located about east of downtow ...

. It is one of four major flood control reservoirs for the Cumberland; the others being

Wolf Creek Dam The Wolf Creek Dam is a multi-purpose dam on the Cumberland River in the western part of Russell County, Kentucky, United States. The dam serves at once four distinct purposes: it generates hydroelectricity; it regulates and limits flooding; it r ...

Dale Hollow Dam The Dale Hollow Reservoir is a reservoir situated on the Kentucky/Tennessee border. The lake is formed by the damming of the Obey River, 7.3 miles (12 km) above its juncture with the Cumberland River at river mile 380. Portions of the lake al ...

, and Center Hill Dam. The

Flood Control Act of 1946 The Flood Control Act of 1946 was passed by the United States Congress on July 24, 1946; to authorize 123 projects including several dams and hydroelectric power plants like Old Hickory Lock and Dam in Tennessee and the Fort Randall Dam in South Da ...

commissioned the construction of a project under the name “Stewarts Ferry Reservoir”. Public Law 85-496, approved July 2, 1958, changed the name to J. Percy Priest in honor of the late Congressman from Tennessee. Construction began June 2, 1963 and the dam was completed in 1968. The dam was built under

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

supervision. In

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

the dam was bombed with

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germa ...

as ruse to cover a crime spree supposed to have taken place in the resultant massive flooding. The conspirators succeeded only in destroying some iron doors at the dam's base. The suspects were later convicted and sentenced to substantial prison terms. Rising above the streambed, the combination earth and concrete-gravity dam is long with a

hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

plant generating 28 MW of electrical power. The dam has contributed significantly in reducing the frequency and severity of

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

ing in the Cumberland Valley. In addition to the far-reaching effects of flood control, the project contributes to the available electric power supply of the area. The dam is easily visible from

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

where it crosses the Stones River. The completion of the dam in 1967 resulted in the destruction of the last known population of the freshwater mussel '' Epioblasma lenior'', which is now extinct.

Reservoir Elevation (behind the dam)

(elevations are in feet above sea level) 504.50 ft The dam can hold flood waters up to this level 494.50 ft Elm Hill Marina begins to flood by surpassing the individual walkways to the boat docks 494.50 ft Hamilton Creek Sailboat Marina begins to flood by surpassing the primary walkway to the sailboat docks 490.00 ft Summer Pool (April to October) 483.00 ft Winter Pool (November to March) 480.00 ft Permanent Pool

Hourly discharge

The

Tennessee Valley Authority The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolina ...

(TVA) reports all discharge information online viewable to the public. Current elevations and hourly discharge information can be found at: www.tva.gov/lakes/jph_o.htm It has been found that if J Percy Priest dam is discharging up to it takes about 28 hours for the reservoir elevation to recede . Electricity from the dam is marketed by the

Southeastern Power Administration The Southeastern Power Administration is a United States Power Marketing Administration with responsibility for marketing hydroelectric power from 23 water projects operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the states of West Virginia, Virgin ...

References

External links

Priest Dam project changed lives of many
- The Tennessean
View Weather & Maps
- Unearthed Outdoors * www.tva.gov/lakes/jph_o.htm {{USACE.Army.Mil, sourceURL=http://www.lrn.usace.army.mil/op/JPP/rec/ Dams in Tennessee Buildings and structures in Davidson County, Tennessee United States Army Corps of Engineers dams Dams completed in 1968