Even with rainfall, drought conditions persist for local lakes

Lakes in the Tri-Cities are still below normal levels and the Tennessee Valley Authority attributed the low levels to ongoing drought conditions. Friday, the TVA provided an update on drought conditions across the Tennessee Valley and lake levels throughout its service area. With most of the Tennessee River watershed was experiencing some degree of drought, the report said that in the Tri Cities region, both South Holston Lake and Boone Lake are several feet lower than is typical with Boone Lake being the lowest. Watauga Lake is not far from its typical elevation but the levels will likely fall due to the releases of water downstream. While the region has experienced some recent rainfall and more is in the forecast, the TVA and State weather officials say it will take significant precipitation to make an impact, and that a return to normal rainfall will not quickly resolve the drought conditions.