Local farmers and gardeners have certainly welcomed the recent rains with open arms, as have those whose yards are brown. But the rains that have suddenly become frequent have done very little to help lake levels at Normandy Reservoir. As of yesterday, lake levels at Normandy were at 865.42 feet. That is actually down slightly from 865.50 that was recorded at 1 a.m. Sunday. It is also down from the 866.25 that was recorded earlier this month. The desired summer pool is 875, according to the Tennessee Valley Authority. The dam, as of Tuesday, was releasing 149 cubic feet of water per second, which is slightly down from 150 that was being released earlier this month. TVA officials say that is a small amount for the non-power-generating dam. “We’re trying to keep it as low as we can to meet downstream requirements,” officials added. “The outlook is not very good for rain and runoff, so the reservoir levels will continue to fall.”
So far, the public is not being asked to limit water usage at this time.
