The first three months of 2020 were the wettest the Tennessee Valley has seen in 131 years of rain record-keeping, officials said this week.

During the record-breaking first quarter, the region received 24.61 inches of precipitation. Rainfall for April is also expected to be above normal, according to an expert with the Tennessee Valley Authority's River Forecast Center in Knoxville, Tennessee.

With all of that water still in the river system and more rain expected, boaters, canoeists, kayakers, jet skiers, fishermen and swimmers need to remain vigilant, said Scott Fiedler, public information and community relations officer for TVA.

"There could be a lot of debris in the water," Fiedler said. "The rain may have washed tree branches or trunks into the water."

Such debris could be present in either the main channel of the Tennessee River or its tributaries.

"With the high flows, Mother Nature is moving stuff around, so folks need to be careful," Fiedler said.

Dangerous currents

More water means faster currents in waterways and around spillways that can be very dangerous, and TVA is issuing warnings, including by text messages, to alert recreational water users.

"We are asking anyone near the water to use extreme caution because these are not the kind of currents you might typically see on a sunny July 4," said James Everett, senior manager of the River Forecast Center.

The center, which is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, manages the river system to ensure flood-damage protection, navigation, power production at 29 of 49 dams, water quality, water supply for 5 million people, and recreation, according to TVA's website.

"We take all of the (rain) data and come up with an operating plan for our 49 dams, and then we make decisions each day on how many gates to open and close and how much storage we use," Everett said.

He lauded the river system's employees, saying they are "very dedicated and work tirelessly to take care of the dams and equipment, and to coordinate and communicate with Knoxville to make decisions about when and how much needs to be released."

Everett said there are 160 rain gauges placed throughout the system used to monitor what is coming down the pike.

While rain gauges used to be checked by people who then telephoned in the results, they are now electronic and their readings can be monitored by workers at the River Forecast Center.

For more information and updates on TVA lake levels and river management activities, download TVA's Lake Info app, visit TVA.com or follow TVA’s Facebook, Twitter or other social media sites.

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