1995 – This is a documentary that chronicles the transformation of the Ocoee River in East Tennessee from a rugged natural landscape into a cornerstone of industrial power and world-class recreation. The video explores how the construction of the Ocoee No. 2 Dam and its massive 4.7-mile wooden flume line in 1913 diverted the river’s water for hydroelectricity, leaving the natural riverbed completely dry for over 60 years.
The narrative shifts to the late 1970s, when the flume was shut down for extensive repairs and the water was finally restored to its original path. This accidental revival birthed a booming whitewater rafting industry as paddlers discovered five miles of continuous Class III and IV rapids. The documentary captures the subsequent legal and environmental battles over water rights between commercial outfitters and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), a conflict that ultimately paved the way for the river to host the canoe slalom events during the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics.
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