Tims Ford Lake is a

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

run by the

Tennessee Valley Authority The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolin ...

(TVA) in southern middle

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. The lake encompasses and approximately 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 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 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
Bill Dance Signature Lake
on Dec 21, 2021. 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 Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

(which is the Franklin County seat), Decherd, Estill Springs, Tullahoma, and Lynchburg.

Tims Ford Dam

''Tims Ford Dam'' was built by the TVA from 1966 to 1970, stands high and long at its crest, and impounds the Elk River for an average of 40

megawatts The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named in honor o ...

of hydroelectric power. The reservoir has a flood storage capacity of . The water level in Tims Ford Reservoir varies about in a normal year with the summer level being 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, of concrete make up Tims Ford Dam. The dam was built for a few key reasons according to TVA: # 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 Fayetteville is the county seat and the largest city in Lincoln County, Tennessee, United States. The city's population was 7,095 at the 2020 census. History Fayetteville is the largest city in Lincoln County. The city was established in 1809 ...

. # Opportunities for water oriented recreation "among the rolling hills of Middle Tennessee" # Future water supplies for towns in the area.

References

External links

TVA: Tims Ford ReservoirAll Things at Tims Ford Lake Area
* * {{authority control Reservoirs in Tennessee Dams in Tennessee Protected areas of Franklin County, Tennessee Protected areas of Moore County, Tennessee Tennessee Valley Authority dams Dams completed in 1970 Bodies of water of Franklin County, Tennessee Bodies of water of Moore County, Tennessee