Reckless Duck River water withdrawals threaten local economies
Standing outside Bad Idea Brewing, you can get a glimpse of the Duck River as it bends and snakes though Columbia, Tennessee, a town that’s a little less than an hour outside of Nashville.
“You can see it right from our parking lot,” Zac Fox, the owner of the brewery, said. “It’s kind of like a badge of honor of having something like this in your own backyard.”
But for Bad Idea Brewing, the Duck River—which is one of the most biodiverse rivers in the world—is more than just a scenic setting.
This is water that is treated coming out of the Duck and going into your glass.
Zac Fox, Bad Idea Brewing
“You think about something like beer that is five percent alcohol by volume—the other 95 percent is water. So, if we don’t have access to clean water, we’re not in business,” Fox said. “This is water that is treated coming out of the Duck and going into your glass.”
“I’m deeply passionate about the beer that I make and that I craft, and I feel like this is the medium that I work with. I think any artist will tell you that they have a deep connection to their medium, so I think I feel it a little more with the river,” he said.
That connection is why Fox works to conserve water at his brewery.
“We’re really making the most and being cognizant of how much we’re pulling out and always try to encourage others to do the same.”
But several local water utilities are now proposing to withdraw much more water from the Duck River, leaving people like Fox worried the river could someday be tapped out.
A massive increase in water withdrawals
In order to keep up with Middle Tennessee’s rapid and unprecedented growth, eight water utilities have applied to drastically increase the amount of water they pull from the Duck River. Altogether, the proposals would allow an additional 19 million gallons of water—the equivalent of more than 28 Olympic-sized swimming pools—to be pumped from the river each day, an increase of more than 35 percent.
The massive increase in water withdrawals threatens the health of the incredible river, puts its world-class wildlife at risk, and landed the Duck River on a list of ‘most endangered’ rivers in the U.S.
In order to protect the Duck, and the economies that rely on it, we shouldn’t sacrifice the river in the name of unbridled growth.
George Nolan, Director of SELC’s Tennessee Office
“Even though the Duck River contains an enormous diversity of aquatic wildlife—including dozens of species listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act—the river itself is just not that large,” said SELC Staff Attorney Stephanie Biggs. “So it’s critical that we make sure everyone who uses the river does so in a responsible and sustainable way.”
Instead of protecting the imperiled waterway, state environmental leaders issued lax and unprotective water withdrawal permits that ignore the long-term damage a huge increase in water consumption will cause.
For example, the permits allow utilities to leak a staggering 25 percent of the water they take from the river—a leakage rate that is much higher than what most of the utilities currently achieve. As a result, the permits authorize water utilities to leak more than 18 million gallons of Duck River water into the ground unused every day.
“I’ve seen the Duck River when it’s low,” Fox said. “So knowing that those times do come and keeping that in mind when we make decisions about how we’re allocating our resources is of the utmost importance.”
The permits have received strong backlash from local farmers and community members that live near the Duck River. SELC, on behalf of the Tennessee Wildlife Federation, is currently appealing the flawed permits.
A “downstream effect” on business
The Duck River is the backbone of the region’s outdoor recreation economy. Tens of thousands of anglers, kayakers, and boaters enjoy the river system each year and contribute millions of dollars in recreational spending.
“I think that’s really special to people and something that we probably don’t promote enough of, that we’ve got this ecotourism right here,” Fox said.
But the Duck River’s economic impact extends far beyond its banks: businesses in cities like Columbia benefit from people visiting the river, and farms within the Duck River watershed rely on its steady stream of clean water.
“Some of these proposals that have come up, we know they have a downstream effect on what we do, so it’s made me a little more hypervigilant about protecting my livelihood as a business,” Fox said.
“Without strong, proactive water conservation planning, rapid development risks sucking the river nearly dry during times of drought. If and when that happens, businesses and farms that depend on the waterway will undoubtedly suffer,” George Nolan, Director of SELC’s Tennessee office, said. “In order to protect the Duck, and the economies that rely on it, we shouldn’t sacrifice the river in the name of unbridled growth.”
Pushing for better protections
Along with the permit appeals, SELC is working with the Tennessee Wildlife Federation, the Harpeth Conservancy, and American Rivers to push for better protections for the Duck River. The groups are urging Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to take three critical steps to better protect the Duck River:
- Convene a technical working group, which regularly meets to provide expertise and recommendations regarding water management and conservation in the Duck River watershed.
- Direct the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) to develop a comprehensive watershed plan for the Duck River to manage its long-term and sustainable use proactively.
- Fund much-needed scientific studies to understand the flow needs of the river.