Fontana Dam – The Tennessee Valley Authority is resurrecting tours of some of its dams timed with TVA’s 90th anniversary — the first of the facilities since regular tours were cancelled following the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.
“This summer, TVA is offering public tours of some of our dams, allowing you to see inner workings of a dam and learn how we produce clean hydropower while ensuring the health of the waterways,” TVA announced at tva.com/90.
About 20 people who applied to participate in a tour of Fontana Dam were selected in a special lottery. The tour was held on Friday.
Steven and Maureen Day live on the lake in the Fontana Lake Estates development in Swain County. M
“I was checking on the lake level at the TVA website,” Maureen Day said, explaining how she came across the announcement for the tours.
Another couple came from Knoxville, Tenn., where they read about the tours in a local newspaper. Some people came because they were casually interested, while others displayed broad knowledge about dams and demonstrated it in a barrage of technical questions to tour guides.
Fontana Dam was constructed on the Little Tennessee River on the border between Graham and Swain counties in the 1940s. Construction began in January 1942, just weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor provoked a war declaration by the United States.
The initial goal was the electricity generated by the plant would go toward aluminum production in Alcoa, Tenn., for the war effort. That focus shifted to Oak Ridge, Tenn., where scientists were developing nuclear weapons.
Within months, the population of rural Graham County jumped from about 6,400 to almost triple that as construction workers, engineers and support personnel swarmed to the area to build the massive dam.
A town was constructed to house the workers, becoming what is known today as the Town of Fontana Village.
The dam is 480 feet tall — the tallest dam west of the Rocky Mountains — and 2,365 feet long. Its reservoir, called Lake Fontana, holds 1.4 million acres feet of water. The power station at the base of the dam generates 238.5 megawatts of electricity.
During the tour, participants were shown the control room, the three massive electric turbines, and a corridor leading deep within the dam itself. Participants were each given a commemorative tote bag.
TVA dams generate electricity, provide flood control, and maintain navigable waterways, according to TVA officials, who say TVA keeps the lights glowing, the rivers flowing and the Tennessee Valley growing. The authority, which is a federal agency, provides wholesale power to 153 power distributor, 70 directly-served industrial customers, and one small community.
The facility was built in a rush during wartime conditions, but it has held up well. The control room was redone after a fire and includes computers, but much of the rest of the facility has the distinctive Art Deco architecture of the period it was constructed.
Floors shine so brightly they look wet. Everything in the main building looks new. Look more closely, and the facility shows its age — such as the “1944” that someone wrote in wet concrete as the dam neared completion.
Some spaces even include the original machinery and tools.
More tours are scheduled in August and September. Registration has been completed for those dates with winning registrants notified by email on July 28.
- Aug. 4 – Wilson Dam
- Aug. 11 – Norris Dam
- Aug. 18 – Wilson Dam
- Aug. 25 – Chickamauga Dam
- Sept. 8 – Pickwick Landing Dam
Each tour is limited to 20 people. All tours are on Friday and will be offered twice a day, at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.. Tours last 60 to 90 minutes.
“Since demand is very high, we will use a random drawing to select from the pool of registrants. You will be notified by email indicating whether or not you were selected. Registering does NOT guarantee a space on the tour.”