Cotton is a major agricultural commodity in the Tennessee Valley region of north Alabama with more than 200,000 acres produced in a five county area along the Tennessee River. Annual yield fluctuations are quite common and often these fluctuations are related to drought or irregularly distributed rainfall. With financial and technical support from the Tennessee Valley Authority, an irrigation research and demonstration facility was constructed at the Tennessee Valley Research and Extension Center (TVREC) in 1994-95 to evaluate the potential for enhancement of water resources in that region and to conduct research related to irrigated cotton production. A nontraditional off stream storage reservoir was first constructed at the TVREC to harvest abundant water available in the winter and spring for irrigation during the summer. Using this water source, cotton irrigation research has been underway since 1996 with data reported here for 1997 through 2000.