Town(s):
Chattanooga TN, Dayton TN, Harriman TN, Kingston TN, Lenoir City TN, Loudon TN, Rockwood TN, Spring City TN, Sweetwater TN, Ten Mile TN
County:
Size:
39090
acres
Average Depth:
37
feet
Maximum Depth:
70
feet
Boating Allowed:
Kayaks, Canoes, Sail Boats, Electric Motor Boats, Power Boats, Jet-skis, State & Local Rules & Regulations Apply
Swimming:
Swimming Allowed, No Restrictions
Construction of Watts Bar Dam began in 1939. It was completed in January 1942, three weeks after Pearl Harbor, and provided urgently needed electricity for the war effort—including the Manhattan Project at nearby Oak Ridge National Laboratories.
Watts Bar Reservoir is on the Tennessee River in east Tennessee. It extends 72.4 miles northeast from the dam to Fort Loudoun Dam. The dam has five generating units with a net dependable capacity of 182 megawatts.
Watts Bar Dam, located about midway between Knoxville and Chattanooga, is one of nine TVA dams on the Tennessee River. The reservoir is popular for boating, fishing, swimming, camping and other outdoor activities. A scenic overlook near the dam provides visitors with a panoramic view of the reservoir and surrounding countryside.
Before TVA created Watts Bar and other reservoirs above Chattanooga, the city had one of the most serious flooding problems in the nation. Now the river that often threatened the city contributes to its economy as a major artery for barge traffic—thanks in large part to large reservoirs like Watts Bar and adjacent Chickamauga.
To Check the lake levels hourly click here: https://www.tva.com/Environment/Lake-Levels/Watts-Bar
Watts Bar: Facts + Figures
Watts Bar Dam is 112 feet high and stretches 2,960 feet across the Tennessee River.
Watts Bar Dam is a hydroelectric facility. It has five generating units with a net dependable capacity of 182 megawatts. Net dependable capacity is the amount of power a dam can produce on an average day, minus the electricity used by the dam itself.
Watts Bar Reservoir has 722 miles of shoreline and over 39,090 acres of water surface.
The reservoir has a flood-storage capacity of 379,000 acre-feet.
To maintain the water depth required for navigation, the minimum winter elevation for Watts Bar Reservoir is 735 feet. The typical summer operating range is between 740 and 741 feet.
In addition to forming a navigable 72-mile-long reservoir on the Tennessee River, Watts Bar also creates a slack-water channel for navigation more than 20 miles up the Clinch River and 12 miles up the Emory River.
Watts Bar has one 60- by 360-foot lock that lifts and lowers barges as much as 70 feet to Chickamauga Reservoir. The lock handles more than a million tons of cargo a year.
Vegetation Growth:
Unknown
Non-native Species:
Fish Species:
Crappie, Smallmouth Bass, Lake Trout, Carp, Striped Bass
Boat Access:
Access for Power and Non-power Boats
Parking Spaces:
More than 40
Shoreline Development:
Less than 10%