NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Governor Bill Lee is committing a large amount of state funds to conserving a vital water resource that dried up in several stretches just last summer.
In his “State of the State” address Monday, the governor announced more than $100 million will be set aside to help preserve the Duck River, which is the most biologically-diverse freshwater river in North America.
One idea includes a water pipeline from another river to ease pressure on the Duck River.
With more and more water pulled from the Duck River to support growth, locals told News 2 last summer that the river, which is the sole water source for roughly 250,000 Middle Tennesseans, was at a tipping point.
“We are very afraid to see it wither away to nothing,” said Spencer Totty told News 2 in August. Totty is a fifth-generation Duck River farmer. “You wonder how much longer it’s gonna be here.”
Tennessee’s Department of Finance and Administration met on Tuesday and discussed the Duck River, following the governor’s funding announcement.
“The 100 million dollars is actually seed money for a pipeline that would probably come from the Tennessee River or the Cumberland River to bring water into that area,” said senator Jim Bryson. “The effect it has on the Duck River is it relieves the Duck River from having to serve those [growing] communities.”
After a disastrous, drought-dominated 2024, people who rely on the Duck River told News 2 this funding is a needed step forward.
“It’s extremely encouraging… put your money where your mouth is,” said Nathan Coleman, a beekeeper and business owner along the river.
“We’ve got to have more water, you know, where’s it going to come from? The Tennessee [River] is the obvious choice,” Coleman said. “You can build a pipeline to Tims Ford, get into that Tennessee River watershed, it’s not sensitive. And we can get everything that we need for the next 50 years, not just the next two or three or five years.”
Coleman’s family have been along the Duck River for hundreds of years, just like his neighbor, Spencer Totty.
Both men agree: a pipeline that would bring a new water source to their land is the answer, adding it should not be delayed by the state legislature any longer.
“This is the solution. It may not be a forever solution, but it is the best solution to provide water to Middle Tennessee, and also not strangle a precious resource,” Coleman proclaimed.
Tennessee’s legislature still has to decide whether to approve the governor’s proposal, which is expected to happen sometime in May.
