Project Overview
The Tennessee Duck River Development Agency (DRA) has undertaken a Comprehensive Regional Water Supply Plan for Bedford, Coffee, Marshall, Maury, and southern Williamson Counties to meet future water demands and address concerns with possible water shortages brought on by drought conditions. The goal is to develop a plan with a 50-year projection and a 100-year planning horizon that will provide direction to the DRA for the management of available water resources, including the implementation of specific water supply infrastructure projects. The plan will include specific recommendations, including budgets and implementation timelines, on water supply and water management projects.
The Tennessee General Assembly created the DRA in 1965 as a comprehensive regional development agency. Its broad powers include the “control and development of the water resources” of those portions of the Duck River Watershed lying in Bedford, Coffee, Hickman, Marshall and Maury Counties. Any county or municipality in the Duck River Basin or any governmental entity from which flows any tributary stream of the river, or any county adjoining the river basin may become a sponsoring and participating entity. In 1998, the DRA Board of Directors adopted the following mission statement:
“To develop, protect, and sustain a clean and dependable water resource for all citizens of the Duck River region.”
The DRA represents seven water utilities that serve approximately 250,000 people and industries that include car manufacturers, food processing plants, and other businesses utilizing water for production.
The drought of 2007 highlighted the issue that in extended dry weather conditions the citizens of the Duck River Region primarily depend on the water stored in Normandy Reservoir to meet multiple uses, including drinking water, wastewater dilution, recreation, and natural resource protection. The dramatic decrease in rainfall, combined with the multiple uses of the reservoir and the river, caused record low water levels in Normandy that resulted in temporary dam operational changes to protect all water uses. Weather patterns and growth projections have created the need for a comprehensive regional water supply plan for the Duck River Region.