Geographically Distributed Decision Support; The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) TERRA System

by Rene F. Reitsma, Univ of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA,
Peter Ostrowski, Jr., Univ of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA,
Stephen C. Wehrend, Univ of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Water Policy and Management: Solving the Problems

Abstract:

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has a long history of managing the water provided by the Tennessee River and its tributaries. TVA is responsible for such diverse water interests as navigation, flood control, hydropower, water supply, water quality, recreation, fisheries, and aquatic ecology. TVA is also the largest producer of electric power in the nation with control of more than 40 hydro-electric, 11 fossil, and 2 nuclear power plants. Managing integrated reservoir and power systems requires close cooperation and communication between the various departments within the organization, as well as very current and sound information on the status of the TVA reservoir and power systems. Increasing competition for water and power resources, and more scrutiny and critical evaluation of operating decisions and suggested policies, has forced the need for computerized tools to support reservoir and power systems operation and planning. The TERRA (TVA Environment and River Resource Aid) is a decision support system (DSS) which provides geographically distributed TVA departments historical, (near) real time, and forecast information on the status and trajectory of the TVA reservoir and power systems.

Subject Headings: Hydro power | Water quality | Power plants | Water supply | Reservoirs | Electric power | Water-based recreation | Tennessee | United States

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