Center Hill Dam Generation Schedule — Caney Fork River Water Release

WARNING! Water release schedules can change without notice due to unanticipated weather changes or power system requirements. Large amounts of water could be discharged at any time. Use caution! Obey all posted safety regulations and precautions! Remember to always check the Center Hill Dam’s generation schedule for your next Caney Fork River trip.

Check the Center Hill Dam generation schedule before you load the car. It decides what kind of adventure day you get on the Caney Fork River and Center Hill Lake.

Center Hill Dam sits on the Caney Fork River near Silver Point, Tennessee, and it is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Nashville District. Most visitors still search for the TVA generation schedule for Center Hill Lake, and TVA does publish lake level and water release data for the region, so both names lead to the same water. What actually matters to you is simpler: how many generators are running, and at what hours.

What the Generator Count Means for Your Trip

The Caney Fork River generation schedule is posted daily and broken out hour by hour. Zero generators means low, clear, slow water. That is wade-fishing water levels and an easy float for families and first-time paddlers. One or more generators pushes the river up fast, turns the flow cold and pushy, and puts wading off the table. Experienced paddlers only.

Two numbers on the schedule tell the story. Discharge is listed in cubic feet per second (CFS). Lake elevation shows where Center Hill Lake is sitting that day. Low CFS with no units running is the green light. A jump in CFS means the powerhouse came on and the river will rise downstream within an hour or two.

Timing changes by season. Summer heat and winter cold both drive power demand, so generation runs heavier. Spring rain brings flood control releases from Center Hill Dam that have nothing to do with power at all. Fall usually gives the longest stretches of low water. There is no fixed weekly pattern, which is exactly why the schedule gets checked every morning.

We pull the current Center Hill Dam water release schedule onto this page so you do not have to dig through federal websites on your phone. Bookmark it. Check it the night before, then check it again the morning of, because the schedule can shift overnight.

Anglers and kayakers use this page to plan wading windows on the tailwater. Paddlers use it to pick a put-in time below the dam, at Happy Hollow, or at Betty’s Island. Families renting a cabin use it to decide between a river day and a lake day on Center Hill. Whatever the plan, the generation schedule comes first.

Safety: Water Can Rise Without Warning

One warning we can’t stress enough. Release schedules can change without notice for weather or power demand. Large amounts of water can be released at any time. The Caney Fork can rise several feet in minutes. Stay off gravel bars and mid-river islands when generation is scheduled, keep an eye upstream, and get out early if you hear the horn or see the water color change.

Staying with us on the Caney Fork River? Ask when you book and we will walk you through reading the schedule, matching it to your trip, and picking the hours that fit what you came here to do.

Click this link to see the Center Hill Dam Generation Schedule that is posted by the Army Corp of Engineers.