Tisha Calabrese Benton

TRACY CITY, Tenn. — A public hearing has been set to discuss raising the Big Fiery Gizzard Reservoir Dam by seven feet to boost water supplies on the South Cumberland Plateau.

Tracy City Public Utility Manager Tommy McFarland pitched the idea last spring as a cost-effective way to address water supply problems. The estimated price tag is between $1.5 million and $2 million.

Next month’s hearing is the first formal step toward making the project a reality, Mr. McFarland said Tuesday.

“First thing is to see whether we can get the (aquatic resource alteration) permit,” he said. “Without it we won’t be able to do anything.”

The project is a “regional concept” that would help other areas of Grundy and surrounding counties on the Plateau, he said.

Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation spokeswoman Tisha Calabrese-Benton said officials will be “looking for comments that address water quality issues or concerns” as part of the decision to issue the permit.

The dam-raising idea is one of two proposed projects aimed at helping the area deal with continued development and continued drought.

The project could increase the 58-acre man-made lake’s daily use capacity from 680,000 gallons to 1.35 million gallons, officials said.

The other idea is an $11 million proposal to connect the South Cumberland Plateau to the Tennessee River through the water plant in South Pittsburg, Tenn. Grundy officials estimate that project could be finished in four or five years.

Raising the dam would flood about 1,300 feet more of Big Fiery Gizzard Creek, and water quality could be lowered by water inundating lands upstream, but it could increase the reservoir’s drinking water yields by 90 percent, TDEC records show.

If TDEC issues the permit, officials will begin to seek funding and other required permits, Mr. McFarland said.