Norris Spilling

TVA began spilling water through the top spill way gates at Norris Dam Monday afternoon to create storage for future rain events. TVA's River Forecast Center located in Knoxville will maintain our operating guide for Norris and anticipate the reservoir will meet its June 1 recreation elevation target. The spill rate out of Norris is 3.5 million gallons per minute. The top spillway gates are being used, instead of sluicing from the lower gates, to spill warmer water off the top and conserve the colder water which is deeper in the reservoir for summer. We anticipate spilling for the next 10 days. On average we spill from the top of Norris once every 5 -- 10 years and the last time the top gates were used to spill was May 2009.

[@marksimpson3968]

Great vantage point for the "Grand Old Lady". I've been a fan of this old girl for over 45 years and have never gotten an opportunity to tour her generator hall or go inside. One of my greatest regrets from the 9/11 fallout. Does the water flowing across the spillway cause the streaking? Is the black coating on the concrete accumulated mold and mildew? Curious.