Ocoee No. 3 Right Now
Ocoee No. 3's water level has been rising over the past week. Watershed conditions are abnormally dry. Today's forecast calls for patchy fog then sunny.
- 7-day level change
- Up 1.8 feet
- Forecast high
- 81°F
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Overview
Ocoee No. 3 is a 360-acre reservoir on the Ocoee River in Polk County, southeast Tennessee, the uppermost of three TVA dams on the river. It was built by the Tennessee Valley Authority during World War II for hydropower; water is diverted into a tunnel and carried more than two miles to a downstream powerhouse. The project sits in the Cherokee National Forest and anchors the upper end of the famous Ocoee whitewater corridor.
With about 24 miles of shoreline in a steep mountain setting, Ocoee No. 3 is a small storage and diversion pool rather than a large recreation lake. Forested ridges, a narrow riverine basin, and limited shoreline development give it a remote highland character. A section of the river below the dam was the whitewater venue for the 1996 Olympics, and TVA sluices water on selected days so paddlers can run the Olympic course and upper Ocoee rapids.
Recreation focuses on whitewater rafting and kayaking on release days, with commercial outfitters serving the Olympic course and upper Ocoee runs. On-lake use is limited compared with Parksville downstream, but the reservoir and river corridor still attract anglers and scenic visitors. Fisheries in the Ocoee system are managed by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.
Water levels on Ocoee No. 3 are managed by TVA for hydropower and scheduled whitewater releases in coordination with Parksville Lake and Ocoee No. 2. Monitoring TVA's Ocoee release schedule is essential for paddlers planning trips on the river below the dam, and checking current pool conditions helps anyone using the small reservoir itself.
Ocoee No. 3 is a 360-acre reservoir on the Ocoee River managed by Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).