"Who Will Speak for the Duck River?"

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Written By: Dana Dye

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The Duck River Watershed Planning Partnership has been meeting, studying, and discussing for a year. The Partnership was established by Governor Lee’s Executive Order in November of 2024. Its report and recommendations are due this month.

               The Partnership has sought feedback from the public through an online public survey. It has conducted several public meetings throughout the area and its designated work groups have held sessions over the course of the past year.

               As the Partnership begins to hammer out its recommended plan, there has been (not surprisingly) a great deal of jockeying for advantage among politicians, utilities, and developers. If the water needs of the entire Duck River Watershed are to be addressed on a regional basis, as they should be, questions arise: Who will run the show? Who will get the biggest piece of the pie or, more aptly, the longest drink of water. Who will be the winners? Who will be the losers?

Regionalization is supposed to curb competition among the various utility companies and assure that decisions are made for the good of the Duck River watershed as a whole. However, the will to dominate and press for advantage seems to be unstoppable. Kudos to Gabe Howard from Maury County for calling it out.! Those seeking political power and economic dominance will continue to apply pressure, using the Duck River as a prop or a tool or a commodity to be brokered. We do not have to fold under that pressure.

Please remember that the Duck River is not a political football. It is not for sale. It is not a means to an end. It is a national treasure. We are either worthy of its stewardship or we are not.

I was sorry to see that the Mallory Valley Utility District is halting its plan for a pipeline to the Cumberland River because the process had become “increasingly political, seemingly at the expense of our good-faith efforts.” I fully understand why MVUD would do this, even though the best long-term solution for securing sufficient water and saving the Duck River is a pipeline to a larger water source. It is maddening to try to do good-faith hard work in the middle of a political hailstorm.

The Partnership will need to be strong, bold, focused and wise in crafting its recommendations for how this region—our region—can supply water to hundreds of thousands of new residents and industries while protecting the health of its crown jewel and defining asset, the Duck River. It will need to look beyond the horizon of the current spin cycle and not be distracted by the chatter. It will need to focus on drought restrictions and minimum flow requirements. It will need to be bold enough to insist that a pipeline to a larger source like the Tennessee River be studied and considered as a long-term solution.

Politicians are spinning facts, rumors, and fantasies in equal measure. Developers are penciling in their dance cards. The utility companies are pumping up their PR campaigns. Numbers with dollar signs attached are seemingly plucked from thin air and batted around like helium balloons. Everyone is talking at once.

Who will speak for the Duck River? Will you?

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.