Tims Ford Lake is a reservoir run by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in southern middle Tennessee. The lake encompasses 10,700 acres (16.7 square miles) and approximately 250 miles of shoreline.
The Tims Ford Dam was named from an early ford crossing the Elk River near Winchester. The ford was on or near land owned by Abner Mansfield Tims, an early Franklin County settler. The ford was used until about 1885 when the Tims Ford Bridge was constructed across the river.
The massive dam and reservoir construction program that was undertaken by TVA following its creation in 1933, required the purchase of over one million acres of land for the creation of 34 reservoirs in five of the seven states in the Tennessee Valley region.
There are six islands on the lake that are accessible for camping and exploring: Leatherwood Island, Big Island, Little Island, Maple Bend Island, Goose Island, and Devils Step Island. The camping is primitive with no facilities and is managed by Tims Ford State Park. Access to the islands is via either boat or kayak.
Tims Ford Lake was designated a Bill Dance Signature Lake on Dec 21, 2021.[1] This designation provides funds to the lake for above-the-water upgrades such as docks, fishing piers, and signage as well as other enhancements to fishing in the lake.
Tims Ford Dam was built by the TVA from 1966 to 1970, stands 175 feet high and 1580 feet long at its crest, and impounds the Elk River for an average of 40 megawatts[2] of hydroelectric power. The reservoir has a flood storage capacity of 219,600 acre-feet.[3]
The water level in Tims Ford Reservoir varies about 15 feet in a normal year with the summer level being 888 feet above sea level.
Tims Ford Dam was TVA’s first hydroelectric facility retrofitted with a small generating unit for the purpose of maintaining instantaneous downstream minimum flows. Additionally, 85,400 cubic yards of concrete make up Tims Ford Dam. [4]
The dam was built for a few key reasons according to TVA:[5]
Create a navigable channel of the Elk River from a point 14 miles downstream.
The power generation would provide 40 megawatts of power from the generator.
The dam provides water supply and flood damage reduction downstream on the Elk River, primarily for Fayetteville, Tennessee.
Opportunities for water oriented recreation "among the rolling hills of Middle Tennessee"
Future water supplies for towns in the area.
References
^"Gov. Bill Lee and America's Most-Loved Fisherman Bill Dance Announce Tennessee "Bill Dance Signature Lakes" Initiative". www.tn.gov. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
tims, ford, lake, reservoir, tennessee, valley, authority, southern, middle, tennessee, lake, encompasses, acres, square, miles, approximately, miles, shoreline, near, winchestershow, tennesseeshow, united, stateslocationfranklin, moore, counties, tennessee, u. Tims Ford Lake is a reservoir run by the Tennessee Valley Authority TVA in southern middle Tennessee The lake encompasses 10 700 acres 16 7 square miles and approximately 250 miles of shoreline Tims Ford LakeTims Ford Lake near WinchesterTims Ford LakeShow map of TennesseeTims Ford LakeShow map of the United StatesLocationFranklin Moore counties Tennessee United StatesCoordinates35 11 49 N 086 16 43 W 35 19694 N 86 27861 W 35 19694 86 27861 Coordinates 35 11 49 N 086 16 43 W 35 19694 N 86 27861 W 35 19694 86 27861TypereservoirPrimary inflowsElk RiverPrimary outflowsElk RiverBasin countriesUnited StatesSurface area10 700 acres 43 km2 Sunrise on Tims Ford The Tims Ford Dam was named from an early ford crossing the Elk River near Winchester The ford was on or near land owned by Abner Mansfield Tims an early Franklin County settler The ford was used until about 1885 when the Tims Ford Bridge was constructed across the river The massive dam and reservoir construction program that was undertaken by TVA following its creation in 1933 required the purchase of over one million acres of land for the creation of 34 reservoirs in five of the seven states in the Tennessee Valley region The lake is home to the 3 546 acre Tims Ford State Park There are six islands on the lake that are accessible for camping and exploring Leatherwood Island Big Island Little Island Maple Bend Island Goose Island and Devils Step Island The camping is primitive with no facilities and is managed by Tims Ford State Park Access to the islands is via either boat or kayak Tims Ford Lake was designated a Bill Dance Signature Lake on Dec 21 2021 1 This designation provides funds to the lake for above the water upgrades such as docks fishing piers and signage as well as other enhancements to fishing in the lake The lake is bordered by 5 different cities Winchester which is the Franklin County seat Decherd Estill Springs Tullahoma and Lynchburg Tims Ford Dam EditTims Ford Dam was built by the TVA from 1966 to 1970 stands 175 feet high and 1580 feet long at its crest and impounds the Elk River for an average of 40 megawatts 2 of hydroelectric power The reservoir has a flood storage capacity of 219 600 acre feet 3 The water level in Tims Ford Reservoir varies about 15 feet in a normal year with the summer level being 888 feet above sea level Tims Ford Dam was TVA s first hydroelectric facility retrofitted with a small generating unit for the purpose of maintaining instantaneous downstream minimum flows Additionally 85 400 cubic yards of concrete make up Tims Ford Dam 4 The dam was built for a few key reasons according to TVA 5 Create a navigable channel of the Elk River from a point 14 miles downstream The power generation would provide 40 megawatts of power from the generator The dam provides water supply and flood damage reduction downstream on the Elk River primarily for Fayetteville Tennessee Opportunities for water oriented recreation among the rolling hills of Middle Tennessee Future water supplies for towns in the area References Edit Gov Bill Lee and America s Most Loved Fisherman Bill Dance Announce Tennessee Bill Dance Signature Lakes Initiative www tn gov Retrieved 2023 01 11 Tims Ford TVA Retrieved 29 Jan 2023 TVA website Accessed 2 May 2016 TVA Running Hot and Cold Retrieved 16 Dec 2022 Commentary Daily News Journal Murfreesboro Tenn 1 July 1965 p 2 External links EditTVA Tims Ford Reservoir All Things at Tims Ford Lake Area Media related to Tims Ford Dam at Wikimedia Commons U S Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System Tims Ford Lake This Franklin County Tennessee geography related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte This Moore County Tennessee geography related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tims Ford Lake amp oldid 1136311043, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
