Tennessee utilities learn from drought, prepare for next dry year
Small towns in the driest parts of Tennessee answered the calls to conserve water during the 2016 drought, with residents taking shorter showers and letting their lawns turn brown.
But the dry spell -- the worst since the historic drought of 2007 -- tested many local water districts’ drought plans, and has forced officials to rethink their drinking water sources. Some utility managers are searching for backup water supplies, eyeing new pumping equipment and exploring alternate distribution models, in case dry conditions continue.
At the Big Creek Utility District in Grundy County, manager Allen Joslyn said he’s working on a deal with the state to use water from a nearby lake, in addition to using the district’s current reservoir. The 3,100-customer district lifted mandatory water-use restrictions mid-December, after much-needed rain.
“We’re trying to plan for a worst-case scenario,” Joslyn said. “The next time we have a drought, we may not be so fortunate.”
For much of the spring and summer in 2016, the majority of Tennessee was abnormally dry, but not yet under drought conditions, according to statistics from the National Drought Mitigation Center. Then, in the beginning of October, the state hit a dry spell. The parched conditions peaked in late November and early December, when 99 percent of the state fell under a severe drought. December rain brought some relief, with less than 20 percent of Tennessee under severe drought at the end of the month.
Federal officials classify the drought in four levels, from bad to worst: moderate, severe, extreme and exceptional drought. The scale is based on rainfall, soil moisture, water flow in streams and other factors. A severe drought could bring crop losses, water shortages and water use restrictions. In the record-breaking drought of 2007, the majority of the state was under exceptional conditions for five weeks.
That year caused the state and water managers to develop formal plans to handle long and recurring periods of dry weather. Aspects of the plans were implemented for the first time in 2016.
Pikeville Water System in Bledsoe County won approval from the state to draw water from the Sequatchie River. The district pumped "night and day" to refill the city's tanks, about 300 gallons a minute, said Philip Cagle, Pikeville's mayor.
"We didn't run out, we just got real low," Cagle said.
The state's drought conditions may continue to improve during the next three months, the National Weather Service recently forecast. And rainfall is expected to be at or above normal during the first half of 2017, according to researchers at Columbia University's International Research Institute for Climate and Society.
Residents in the hardest-hit areas of the state during 2016, especially in the south and southeast, were urged or forced to conserve. About a dozen water districts implemented restrictions like bans on washing cars and watering lawns. Some areas with plentiful water sources -- such as Nashville with the Cumberland River and Memphis with the Mississippi -- didn’t need to launch those parts of their drought plans.
At the Fall Creek Falls Utility District on the Cumberland Plateau, distribution manager Calvin Wooden said consumers complied with mandatory restrictions this year. The district briefly shuttered two local commercial car washes and restricted its 1,600 customers’ outdoor watering, among other mandates. The district reduced its consumption by about 25 percent.
“Everybody really got in line here and conserved,” Wooden said. “All we had to do is let them know if we didn’t start conserving we wouldn’t have any water. It pretty much spooked them.”
Residents of areas hit hard in 2007 were quick to respond this time, officials said. That drought devastated agriculture, caused some cities to run dry, and exposed a lack of planning and infrastructure investment.
"The citizens are becoming more aware and educated about the value of water and how important it is," said David Money, an environmental fellow in the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Division of Water Resources.
State officials, water district managers and others are planning to meet on Jan. 13 in Fall Creek Falls State Park to discuss the 2016 drought, how the local plans fared and proposed changes to the state's drought management. Some municipalities are searching for alternative water sources, but state leaders aren't ready to endorse any drastic changes to the distribution network, said Money, the state environmental official. At least one local official said the planning process was dragging on too long.
"I'm all for trying to figure the best solutions and best long term plan, but time's precious and summer will be here before you know it," said Cagle, the Pikeville mayor.
Some water managers couldn't wait. The Fall Creek Falls Utility District purchased emergency water from the South Cumberland Utility District in 2016, and officials there are hoping to line up another back-up source, Wooden said. It was the lowest he’s seen the water level drop in 18 years.
Emergency supplies cost twice as much as the district’s regular source, though, so officials are considering buying a water treatment plant to help save costs, Wooden said.
In east Polk County, near the Georgia and North Carolina borders, plant manager Randy Adcock watched the water line drop by more than four feet in Campbell Cove Lake.
“We’ve got the prettiest lake you have ever seen in your life,” said Adcock, who operates the pumping facility at the Copper Basin Utility District. “But I’ve been here since 1965, and that’s the lowest I’ve ever seen it.”
To keep the pump submerged, Adcock extended the water intake to a deeper point in the 70-acre lake. He researched the cost -- $10,000 -- for a floating pump motor, in case the water level dropped further.
“Hope and pray it never does, but whatever happens we’ll be ready,” said Adcock.
Reach Jake Lowary at 615-881-7039 or on Twitter @JakeLowary. Reach Mike Reicher by email at email@example.com.