Barkley Dam and Lake

     Barkley, Kentucky and

     Tennessee

US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS                                                                            BUILDING STRONG®

                                                                                         FACT SHEET

                                                                                  (As of August 2012)

AUTHORIZATION: River & Harbor Act of 1946 (P.L. 79-525); River & Harbor Act of 1954 (P.L. 83-760).                        

TYPE OF PROJECT: Multipurpose-Hydropower, Navigation, Recreation, Flood Risk Management, and Environmental Stewardship

LOCATION:  Barkley Dam and Lake Barkley are located in southwestern Kentucky near Paducah, Ky. Lake Barkley is a shallow water lake impounding 118.1 miles of the Cumberland River from River Mile 30.6 above its confluence with the Ohio River to Cheatham Dam (River Mile 148.7).  It is the lowermost mainstream project for the Cumberland River System.  Barkley is a multi-purpose projects designed for flood risk management, navigation, and hydropower.

Non-federal Sponsor/Customer

·   Hydropower Users thru SEPA

CONGRESSIONAL INTEREST: Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-KY-1; Senator Mitch McConnell, R-KY and Senator Rand Paul, R-KY, Rep. Stephen Fincher, R-TN-8, Sen. Bob Corker, R-TN and Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-TN.

BACKGROUND:

·   Barkley Dam was built in the late 1950’s and was fully operational in 1966. The dam structure is a combination of earth fill and a concrete gravity structure totaling 157 feet tall and 10,180 feet long, with the top of the dam having an elevation of 375 above mean sea level. This structure consists of a power intake section utilizing four generators, a spillway section that has 12 tainter gates fifty feet high and fifty-five feet wide, the 8,725 foot earth fill section and the lock.

·   The power plant has a maximum release of 52,000 c.f.s. and in 2010, produced 1,287,554,000 kwh.  Power is marketed by Southeastern Power Administration (SEPA) with most being sold TVA and Big Rivers RECC. In 2011 and 2012, Barkley Power experience major maintenance issues with two of its four generators.  The most significant of which was a ground fault on unit one. This event resulted in a fire that destroyed 25% of the stater coils and 9% of the rotor poles.  A contract was awarded in 2011 to rewind the unit at a total cost of $8.5 million; $5.5 million will come from O&M Funds while the remaining balance will be customer funded. Unit one is scheduled to be returned to service in June of 2013.

·   Lake Barkley reaches 118 miles from Barkley Lock and Dam to Cheatham Lock and Dam. There are 1,004 miles of shoreline at normal summer pool (elev. 359) and 108,963 acres of land and water (this includes 51,168 acres of fee and easement land area above summer pool). Over 3.3 million people visit the lake’s four campgrounds, eight commercial marinas, and 22 public areas as well as Lake Barkley State Park, Fort Donaldson National Battlefield, and Land Between the Lake National Recreation Area.

·   Barkley Lock was opened to navigation in 1964. The lock chamber is 110 feet wide by 800 feet long and has a capacity of 37 million gallons.  The lock uses valves (two filling and two emptying) and a culvert system to bring in and release water via gravity. The gates are horizontally framed miter gates, which are opened and closed hydraulically during lockage’s. In 2011, Barkley Lock processed 1310 vessels and 3,943 barges with an average delay time of .83 hours.

·      Barkley Canal is a 1.75 mile long excavated channel between Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. The canal provides a navigable channel for vessels and permits the diversion of flows needed to improve hydropower production.

IMPORTANCE: Barkley Power plant has the capacity to provide power quickly in order to meet peak power demands. Barkley hydropower is a renewable, reliable, clean, and efficient form of obtaining power. Hydroelectric power generation saves valuable fossil fuels for future generations.  Barkley Lock is responsible for processing over 2.2 million tons of goods through its chamber. These goods include coal, manufactured goods, petroleum, food and farm products, chemicals and other bulk materials. The Lake Barkley Resource Managers Office is responsible for environmental stewardship of over 108,963 acres of water and land, thus protecting wildlife habitat, fisheries, and ensuring proper use of government property. The lake also hosts over 3.3 million visitors with recreational opportunities bringing $73.6 million into local economies.

STATUS:

·  Barkley hydropower unit one is unavailable until June 2013. Anticipated generation revenue lost is $2.0 million.

·  Flooding in 2010 and 2011 resulted in damage to the facility. Currently contract work is underway to repair these damages.

·  $4.5 million in ARRA funds were received in 2010 and used to correct infrastructure and backlog maintenance problems.

BUDGET ($): Estimated project costs are shown below. 

SCHEDULE:

This is an on-going operating project.

For more information regarding the Barkley Lock & Dam project, contact the Resource Manager’s Office at (270) 362-4236.