Watershed | The Tennessee River By Jeff Rich

Watershed:

The Tennessee River

by Jeff Rich

Watershed: The Tennessee River examines the complicated environmental effects and consequences of large-scale modernization in the Tennessee River Watershed.

This project began on December 22, 2008. The failure of a containment pond dyke spilled 5.4 million cubic yards of coal ash belonging to the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) Kingston Fossil Plant into the Emory River and its surrounding landscape. What led to this point?

Jeff Rich investigates the river itself and the TVA's vast reach and power throughout the region. It has forever changed the environment of its watershed that is in every way at odds with the natural evolution and ecology of the Tennessee River system.

Artist Biography

Jeff Rich is a photographer whose work focuses on water issues from sustainability to exploitation in specific regions of the US. He received his MFA in photography from the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, GA. His work has been exhibited worldwide and has been held in many public and private collections. Jeff also curates the series Eyes on the South for Oxford American Magazine. To see more of Jeff Rich’s work, visit www.jefferyrich.com.