Follow-up to: ‘Sinkhole develops under dam in US — 7 nuclear reactors downstream — NRC notified of ‘stability issues’, plants begin evaluating potential flood impacts‘ and ‘Muddy seepage coming up near foundation of Boone Dam — Officials working around clock, using submarines and ground-penetrating radar

Bristol Herald Courier, Jan 14, 2015 (emphasis added): Water is still seeping at Boone Dam and the cause has yet to be determined… Boone Dam has two portions, a concrete portion [and] an earthen embankment. “The leak is actually in the embankment, that’s where all the focus is,” Travis Brickey, a spokesman for TVA, said Monday… TVA is currently drilling around the area where the units discharge water… Though there is no clear timeline on how long the investigation will take, Brickey said that it’s safe to say that there will be a project at the dam. But he’s not sure… how long the project will last or how it will impact the reservoir.

WJHL, Jan 12, 2015: TVA… says it plans to make an announcement about… water seeping out of a nearby riverbank near Boone Dam [after] what’s now being described as a “prolonged analysis” to find the source of the water moving underground… [TVA spokesman Travis Brickey] confirmed TVA engineers now suspect water is moving through fissures in rock under the earth-filled section of Boone Dam… TVA has lowered Boone Lake [to reduce] pressure on the dam [and] stopped passing water through its power-generating turbines at Boone Dam as a safety precaution… That’s forced TVA to release water [which is] shooting into the air… a highly visible water release that seems to have fired speculation about what’s going on at Boone Dam… TVA is non-committal about its plans to refill the lake in the spring. “It’s too soon to tell,” Brickey said.

TVA spokesman Travis Brickey, Jan 12, 2015: “We are considering all possibilities and continue to analyze the data… We’ve installed additional monitoring equipment along with an extensive core drilling campaign… We’re aware that there are plenty of rumors… Our engineers are working to develop next steps.”

More from Brickey: “We’re doing a lot of engineering work and looking at repair options and what that might entail… I assure you there are a lot of people working on this.”

WCYB, Dec 29. 2014: People who visit Boone Lake won’t be seeing normal water levels any time soon… Brickey says that TVA is reviewing repair options on Boone Dam… But, the longer it takes for TVA to announce the plans, the more concerned many marina owners are becoming.

Kingsport Times-News, Dec 29, 2014:“It’s all speculation,” Brickey said of rumors that the lake’s drawdown could last two years or longer… TVA’s most recent press [said] “reservoir levels could be lowered further if conditions change… The duration of the drawdown will depend on the results of the ongoing analysis.”

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