Old Hickory Lock and 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 ...

located in middle

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 ...

on the Cumberland River at river mile 216.2 in Sumner and

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Counties, approximately upstream from Nashville. 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

Old Hickory Lake Old Hickory Lake is a reservoir in north central Tennessee. It is formed by the Old Hickory Lock and Dam (), located on the Cumberland River at mile 216.2 in Sumner and Davidson counties, approximately upstream from Nashville. The city ...

. The dam and lake are named after

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

(nicknamed "Old Hickory"), who lived in the vicinity at The Hermitage.

Construction

Old Hickory Lock and Dam was authorized for construction by the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1946 as a unit of a comprehensive development plan for the Cumberland River Basin. The project was designed by the

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

and built by private contractors under the Corp's supervision. Construction started in January 1952, and dam closure was completed in June 1954. The project was completed for full beneficial use in December 1957 with the placement of the final

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 an ...

unit in operation.

Reservoir

Old Hickory Reservoir is long lying between Nashville and

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. The reservoir is essentially a

run-of-river Run-of-river hydroelectricity (ROR) or run-of-the-river hydroelectricity is a type of hydroelectric generation plant whereby little or no water storage is provided. Run-of-the-river power plants may have no water storage at all or a limited amo ...

type without regulating storage other than for incidental flood control through surcharge operation, and for

pondage Pondage usually refers to the comparably small water storage behind the weir of a run-of-the-river hydroelectric power plant. Such a power plant has considerably less storage than the reservoirs of large dams and conventional hydroelectric stations ...

for power generation and lockages; hence, low water flow of the river will be increased only indirectly through the use and passage of discharges from upstream plants. Such releases, however, result in a more sufficient and higher quality of water for domestic and industrial consumption and use are effective in pollution abatement downstream. Due to the fairly constant level maintained under normal operating conditions, the reservoir is well suited for conservation and recreational purposes. Beginning in 2007, the multi-year altered flow and water temperatures resulting from the emergency maintenance on the Wolf Creek Dam affected Old Hickory like the other Cumberland River reservoirs and resulted in modifications about environmental management.

Operation

The lock, dam, powerhouse and lake are operated and supervised by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' personnel under the direction of the District Engineer at Nashville. The

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

allows

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...

s and recreational

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...

s to navigate the Cumberland River. The power plant is operated so as to use as much of the water flow as possible for power production. During periods of high stream flow, the

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure th ...

gates are opened to pass the water in excess of the capacity of the turbines, and as necessary for retention and regulation 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 ...

waters through surcharge operation. The upper portion of the reservoir, corresponding to a five-foot depth above the normal headwater level, is provided for surcharge storage. This storage space is utilized by raising all of the spillway gates in small equal increments, thus permitting passage of some water under them, but retaining or forcing into storage all inflow to the reservoir in excess of the spillway discharge and power releases. 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, Virg ...

2010 Flooding

Old Hickory was a key element in flood control during flooding on the Cumberland River in 2010. The operation and timing of water releases, following the of rain over two days, subsequently became the subject of a

US Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

hearing. Cheatham Dam located below Nashville was so flooded that the Corps pulled out the spillway gates and evacuated the dam allowing the river free discharge over the dam which was considered in the design. Old Hickory was not designed for a dam over-topping so a priority for the Corps was to prevent the reservoir overflowing the dam. The river upstream finally stopped rising on Sunday night with the reservoir approximately one foot below the top of the dam. A few days before the flood Old Hickory Dam was releasing approximately of water. At the peak release on Sunday afternoon, the dam was releasing a record flow of over of water.

References

Dams in Tennessee Buildings and structures in Davidson County, Tennessee Buildings and structures in Sumner County, Tennessee Hydroelectric power plants in Tennessee Transportation buildings and structures in Davidson County, Tennessee Transportation in Sumner County, Tennessee United States Army Corps of Engineers dams Dams completed in 1954 Energy infrastructure completed in 1954 1954 establishments in Tennessee Dams on the Cumberland River