1902: NABRICO builds its first bridge; six years later it begins building steam locomotives for the burgeoning rail industry and expansion
1911: Waterworks holding tank at eighth street ruptures releasing 25 million gallons into surrounding neighborhoods.
1915: NABRICO builds its first floating craft for the USACOE, five years later the first tow barge is invented and being produced in Nashville.
1927: Cumberland River reaches 56.2 feet at the Nashville gauge; highest recorded flood waters in the city. Water laps over most of First Street between Church Street and Demonbreun Streets. Many businesses along First Street flood.
1933: The last steamboat is built. Also this year, frames on locks are retrofitted to allow a vessel with a 9’ deep draw.
1939-1942: World War II; NABRICO manufactures vessels for the US Navy
1940: Cumberland River freezes; adventurous Nashvillians ice skate along the river.
1950: Nashville’s sewer system totals 400 miles of sanitary sewer lines, which dump directly into streams and the Cumberland River.
1958: Central Wastewater Treatment Plant built just north of downtown and begins operation.
1959: Cheatham Dam is constructed 42 miles downstream of Nashville in Ashland City; The Dam replaces a series of locks, generates electricity and turns the Cumberland River into a series of navigable pools with flows largely controlled by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE).
1967: Percy Priest Dam built on the Stones River, a tributary of the Cumberland. It was built to reduce flooding in the Cumberland Valley and generate energy.
1972: Clean Water Act passed, EPA formed. Protection of water resources becomes a federal requirement.
1975: Second highest flood in Nashville’s History; 10 inches of rain in a 24 hour period caused the Cumberland River to crest at 47.6 feet on the river gauge. Opryland Park is submerged under 16 feet of water and delays opening by a month for the season.
1985: Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Health issues order to Metro to develop a plan to eliminate pollution caused by CSOs (Combined Sewer Overflows).
1990s: NABRICO relocates downstream to Ashland City.
1996: Titans Football Stadium built
1990’s: Metro begins Overflow Abatement Program to improve the water quality of Cumberland and tributaries. Due to significant negative impacts to water quality, Metro Nashville begins planning for separation of storm and sanitary sewers to prevent discharge directly into the river.