Public Involvement Innovation A Look to the Future Working to Manage Litter and Natural Debris Debris and refuse that floats downstream through the reservoir system has a tendency to accumulate at dams. During flood control operations, which require TVA to quickly pass large volumes of water over a dam's spillways, this trash flows downstream. To help mitigate this problem, TVA has an experimental program that uses booms to help prevent garbage from entering the reservoir system and skimmers to remove it from dam forebays once it has collected. In addition, the agency's Watershed Teams participate in hundreds of cleanups, which remove tons of garbage before it enters the main river each year. But, says Janet Herrin, Senior Vice President of River Operations, removal is only a part of the solution.
Prevention is the real key.
We need to reduce the amount of litter and debris that enters the reservoir system. Through the National Clean Boating Campaign and other educational programs, TVA Watershed Teams are working to heighten people's awareness of the damage done by garbage dumping. However, Herrin concedes, there is much work to be done.