thedailytimes.com : Your 24/7 news source

With the lowering of Chilhowee Lake to make repairs to the dam, several vehicles have been found in the lake.

Two trucks were discovered under water at the main boat ramp off U.S. 129 (Calderwood Highway) near Foothills Parkway.

Blount County Sheriff's Office deputies observed the vehicles under water at 1:58 p.m. Sunday.

A Dodge truck pulled from the lake by Butler's Wrecker Service was reported stolen in June 2007 by Alcoa Police Department. It is owned by Tony W. Daniels of Knoxville.

The other stolen Ford truck, also pulled out by Butler's Wrecker Service, belonged to a person in South Carolina.

According to a bystander, one of the trucks still had a baseball bat holding the accelerator down.

When divers went down, they reportedly found four other vehicles in the general area.

Farther up Calderwood Highway another group of citizens gathered Sunday, looking at the top of a Jeep that was clearly visible. The vehicle was apparently left there by a displaced resident when the lake was built.

Authorities are waiting until the lake level is lowered further to pull the other vehicles from the lake, and possibly even more items.

A third vehicle was pulled from the Monroe County side of the lake by the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.

Lowering of the lake to allow repairs to the dam began Sept. 2.

A depression or sinkhole-like area was discovered in 2000 on the south embankment of the dam. It is generally in the shape of an upside down ice cream cone five or six feet in diameter at its top and extends down about 20 feet to bedrock.

The depression is being monitored by ALCOA Power Generating Inc. (APGI), Tapoco Division.

According to an earlier report, the reservoir will be lowered one to two feet per day until the water level reaches a maximum drawdown of about 20 to 25 feet in mid- to late-September. The repairs are expected to be completed by later 2008 or early 2009.

Cost is estimated at $6 million. Tapoco is able to generate electricity at the dam during the project at a reduced capacity.

Normally 65 feet high, Chilhowee Lake, which was built in 1957 under the direction of ALCOA, covers 1,747 acres. It is maintained by APGI.

The Tapoco Division of APGI supplies electric power to ALCOA's Tennessee Operations, the aluminum smelting plant and rolling mill, located in Alcoa.