Audio clip
Ladue Bouldin
While drought concerns for the South Cumberland Plateau region have diminished for the time being, state, federal and Cumberland officials continue to work on a 50-year water supply study.
"The study is to see what they think is the most feasible thing for us to do," Grundy County Mayor LaDue "Boo" Bouldin said, recalling the plateau's high and dry summers of 2007, when Monteagle's primary water source, Laurel Lake, almost was completely depleted.
Tracy City provided water to Monteagle but eventually had to terminate the help when its own water supply ran low.
Mr. Bouldin hopes an alternative that he is pushing -- building a reservoir on Big Creek in Grundy County -- will find traction when the study results are complete in the spring.
He proposed building a brand-new, 600-acre reservoir near Altamont to serve the entire South Cumberland region.
"I don't think we're going to get any hardcore information about it (study findings) until spring," Mr. Bouldin said.
Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation spokeswoman Tisha Calabrese-Benton said creating a reservoir would require an Aquatic Resources Alteration Permit.
To date there is no formal proposed plan or permit request for a new reservoir, she said. However, the department has spearheaded the water resources regional planning pilot study for the South Cumberland region, hoping to help the communities thoroughly evaluate existing water resources as well as "options for expanding those resources," Ms. Calabrese-Benton said.
The South Cumberland region includes Franklin, Grundy, Marion and Sequatchie counties, including the towns of Tracy City, Sewanee, Altamont and Monteagle.
Officials with the U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers also are helping, she said.
The Corps has posted an online copy of a presentation for the pilot study. Dated Dec. 4, the document lists several alternative water sources, including the possibility of raising the level of Tracy City's dam on the Big Fiery Gizzard Lake.
Other new water source development alternatives include:
* Running a pipeline up the plateau from South Pittsburg and the Tennessee River
* Using the privately owned Ramsey Lake
* Tying into the Harrison Ferry Mountain Water Project -- a proposed McMinnville water line
Corps spokesman Fred Tucker said the pilot study is one portion of a $2 million statewide water supply study. The plateau region, because it was so hard-hit during the drought, was one of two regions receiving a first look, he said.
The federally funded work to date has cost $100,000 for the plateau alone, he said, and another $115,000 will be sought to continue the work in 2010.
EXISTING SOURCE IMPROVEMENTS
* Raise level of Big Fiery Gizzard Lake
* Optimize water sharing among utilities
New source development
* South Pittsburgh Pipeline
* Big Creek Lake
* Ramsey Lake
* Harrison Ferry Mountain Water Project
Source: U.S. Corps of Engineers
Pam Sohn has been reporting or editing Chattanooga news for 25 years. A Walden’s Ridge native, she began her journalism career with a 10-year stint at the Anniston (Ala.) Star. She came to the Chattanooga Times Free Press in 1999 after working at the Chattanooga Times for 14 years. She has been a city editor, Sunday editor, wire editor, projects team leader and assistant lifestyle editor. As a reporter, she also has covered the police, ...
Or login with:
New Account