KNOXVILLE, TN- There's a benefit to the drought that grips the Tennessee River Valley.
TVA says dissolved oxygen levels have been easier to maintain in lakes and streams because the utility has had to move more water.
Oxygen is necessary to aquatic life in the valley, including fish and plants.
As TVA has drained water from reservoirs like Fontana Lake to keep the river channel deep enough for barge traffic, more oxygen has been pumped into the water by its motion.
The federal utility says it would take three or four major storms, each dumping up to five inches of rain, to refill the reservoirs.
But TVA says even if the drought drags on for another year, it has enough water to maintain minimum stream flows and desired oxygen levels the length of the Tennessee River from Knoxville to Paducah, Kentucky.
Web Producer- Brett Haas
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