Kentucky Lock at Tennessee River mile 22.4 in Grand Rivers, Kentucky, is closing for 24 hours from 6 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 12 until 6 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020 in coordination with a low-flow operation to facilitate the installation of the lowermost steel band for the lock’s new concrete-filled guard cell.
This low flow operation will involve special operations at four dams: Kentucky, Barkley, Smithland, and Olmsted. Operations at these four dams will target a stage of 14.0 at the Paducah gage on the Ohio River and an elevation of 300.0 at the Kentucky Dam tailwater (lower) gage. As a result, low river levels corresponding to these gage readings should be expected on the Ohio River between Smithland Dam and Olmsted Dam, on the Tennessee River below Kentucky Dam, and on the Cumberland River below Barkley Dam. River levels are expected to start falling by late Friday, Sept. 11, 2020, and continue falling until early Sunday morning. Flows will be increased starting by 6 a.m. Sunday Sept. 13, 2020 at Kentucky Dam and a few hours earlier at Barkley Dam. The Paducah gage should be above at or above a stage of 15.0 by early Sunday night.
All locks except Kentucky Lock will remain open during this special low water operation. However, mariners should exercise caution in determining when and how their vessels should or should not transit these areas during this time period of low water. Barkley Dam will target a steady flow release of 9,000 cfs during this period and Kentucky Dam will target 7,000 cfs.
Contact Wayne Chapman at 270-362-4226 or via e-mail at jeffrey.w.chapman@usace.army.mil for more information.