"Time To Go To Work"

---

Written By: Dana Dye | Photo Credit: Jodie Morgan

---

The Duck River Watershed Planning Partnership (“Partnership”) Initial Report with

recommendations has been filed and is accessible online. I both thank and applaud those

who spent the past year working on it. I agree that the broad, general recommendations of

the Partnership are heartening, especially regarding Drought Management. “The region

should promptly revise and adopt a Regional Drought Management Plan…The current

iteration [of a Drought Management Plan]…does not address flows in the Duck River, which is

a vital component of water resource management in times of drought.” Amen to that!

As with all things, however, the devil is going to be in the details. George Nolan with

the Southern Environmental Law Center pointed out at the last Partnership meeting that

the cheapest, quickest, most effective way to save the Duck River is to implement a serious

Regional Drought Management Plan with strict enforcement measures in place. Tennessee

does not have to re-invent the wheel to accomplish such a plan. North Carolina has done it

and we should follow their lead.

As noted by the Partnership report, the Duck River Drought Management Plan must

include mandatory enforceable reductions in withdrawal when the river is low. The Duck

River does not have enough water to supply all the growth south of Nashville. The

Partnership recognized this fact and recommended studying a pipeline to the Tennessee

River—a larger, more reliable source. In the meantime, as droughts occur more often and

last longer, we are in danger of sucking the Duck River dry before we are forced to admit

that it can’t supply all the water required for the growing thirst of the lower Nashville

Basin.

In order to be meaningful participants in hammering out the details of an effective

Drought Management Plan, we are going to have to learn some terminology and be willing

to keep asking questions until we get answers that make sense. The Partnership has

pointed out that the rate of flow in the Duck River is critical to managing drought

conditions and in maintaining river health. Flow is measured in cubic feet per second (cfs).

The USGS measures depth and flow at multiple sites on the Duck River and the results are

posted on the USGS website. (For example, at the end of November after several good rains,

the river at the Centerville bridge was 5.5 feet deep with a flow rate of 2000 cfs—pretty

healthy conditions.)

However, in October of 2024 after months of drought, the average daily flow rate at

Shady Grove where the river was ankle-deep was 238 cfs, with thousands of dead mussels

littering the gravel bars. That flow rate was obviously too low to sustain river life. The

River Basin Research Center at the University of Georgia studies rivers. According to the

experts at UGA, 600 cfs is the generally accepted flow for floating a kayak or canoe. At 200

cfs, about 50% of the river shoals are exposed and at 100 cfs, the river is “more rock than

water.”

To my knowledge, TDEC has historically granted two extraction permits (Columbia

and Milltown) that contain minimum flow requirements, without any particular

mechanism for enforcing them and without a stated rationalization for why these

particular rates were chosen. (There is no minimum flow limit on any of the other

extraction facilities in the region, including the proposed new intake facility on the

Hickman-Maury County line. The utility companies at these sites can take their full

allotment of water no matter how low the river gets.) TDEC set the minimum flow rate at

the existing extraction facility in Columbia at 100 cfs and the minimum rate at the Milltown

facility at 175 cfs. Both minimums are far too low to maintain river health. Why would we

set a minimum flow rate that is more rock than water? Surely we want to reduce extraction

before we hit rock bottom!

It is not enough for TDEC to simply “encourage” utility companies to reduce water

extraction or to adopt conservation measures during drought conditions. This approach is

about as useful as TDOT posting traffic signs on the interstate saying “PLEASE DON’T

DRIVE TOO FAST” or “PLEASE SPEED SAFELY.” In my uneducated opinion, we need a

minimum healthy flow requirement. We need a number. And we need stiff penalties when

that number is violated. The carrot of “encouragement” will only work if it is paired with a

big “enforcement” stick.

I am a science-challenged person, but I have spent the better part of three weeks

trying to find someone who can tell me what the minimum flow level in the Duck River

must be in order for fish, mussels and other wildlife to survive and thrive. I have not found

the answer yet, but I know that there are people out there who can. Tennessee’s colleges

and universities have scores of smart, dedicated biologists and environmental scientists.

We need the benefit of their studies and expertise, as well as the help of scientists at TWRA,

USGS, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. One of the best things the Governor’s Planning

group recommended was comprehensive monitoring and data collection on the Duck River

in partnership with universities and other agencies, with all that data being made readily

available to the public online.

What can you do while the fate of the Duck River hangs in the balance? You are going

to have to educate yourself as much as you can about the river and the animals that live

there. Uncomfortable as it may be, you are going to have to get into the weeds. You may

have to get in someone’s face. Talk to your friends and neighbors. Tell the utility companies

to get on board: their purpose is not just to sell water but to work for the public good. Tell

your elected and appointed officials and decision-makers that you want a Regional Drought

Management Plan with some teeth in it that will protect your river. Tell TDEC you want a

minimum flow rate for the Duck River that is based on science, that is not “more rock than

water,” and that is going to be strictly enforced. And you want these protections ASAP!

Now is the time to get busy, roll up our sleeves, and transform these Partnership

recommendations into reality. It’s up to you and me. The Duck River is worth saving and it

deserves our best efforts.

Dana Dye is a resident of Hickman County and a Duck River Conservancy Board member. The Duck River Conservancy wants to hear your Duck River experiences and your thoughts about its future. Please send your stories and ideas to P.O. Box 161, Centerville, TN  37033 or duckriverconservancy@gmail.com.