Thursday, September 21, 2017

day 3 part 1: Chickamauga Dam by Kenzie G

Hello friends! I'm Kenzie and I'm writing about the Chickamauga Dam. Sadly, there was no dam snack bar, dam restroom, or dam gift shop, (any Percy Jackson fans out there?) however it was still interesting to learn about.

First we got to see the four turbines, which were huge! Also, did you know that if you go where the turbines are you're around 40 ft under the river? It was weird! After the turbines we went to see the 'heart' of the dam is was really loud down there. Next, we went outside. After climbing lots of steps we reached the top. Did you know the workers can split the dam in half to release pressure? I thought that was interesting.

Raccoon Mountain acts as a 'battery' for the dam. Basically it's a place for energy storage and if something happens to the dam then they can tap into the reserve on Raccoon Mountain. Chickamauga is owned by TVA, obviously and they power around 900,000 home. However they can only power around 140,000 a day. Another fun fact is that there are 14 workers there. 14 workers running the dam, now that's impressive!


At the end we all got little foam hard hats and whenever I cross the bridge over the dam I can't help but think about the tour and fun we had there. See you next time folks!

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After touring the dam, we ate lunch with Sandy Kurtz from the South Chickamauga Creek Greenway alliance and she spoke to the group about what citizens can do to to make sure developers and businesses are following water quality laws. We walked along part of the South Chickamauga Greenway. 

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