HICKMAN COUNTY, Tenn. (WTVF) — Like many of you, I enjoy spending an afternoon on the Duck River, whether that's to kayak or to swim. But environmentalists are worried, the future of the river may be in jeopardy if changes aren't made soon.
Don Hubbs loves nothing more than talking and walking around to find freshwater mussels.
"This is a Three Horned Warty Back," said Hubbs, a retired TWRA Malacologist and current environmental consultant. "That animal was just two years old when it died."
But he really wishes he didn't have to do this task — picking up all the dead mussels along the banks of the Duck River in Hickman County.
"You can tell they’re freshly dead by the shiny inner shell surface," said Hubbs, who plans to study what kind of mussels they are to track endangered species.
Don thinks hundreds — maybe even thousands of endangered freshwater mussels — have died this year due to the historically low water levels in the Duck River.
"They’re left high and dry, if they can’t move to the water or they can’t burrow down to it, then they get desiccated and they’re gone," explained Hubbs.
The problem is that mussels are considered the "canary in the coal mine" as to the river's health.
"They’re the natural biological filters for the river," said Hubbs.
Two major problems
Environmentalists said the Duck River is facing two critical issues at the exact same time: historic drought conditions and public utilities and industry are sucking a large amount of water out of the river.
"I’m seeing things I’ve never seen before. Boulder, holes. We’re afraid we’re going to lose the river," said Doug Jones, who has lived along the Duck River since the 1970s.
Jones thinks the state needs to step in and tell water companies to cut back on what they take when the river has this little to give.
"These water utilities view it as a product like oil or gas, and it’s not. It’s for the citizens of the state and we’ve got to have some protection for it," said Jones.
Instead, the state is poised to do the opposite.
"The state is proposing to jack up the amount of water that utilities pull from the Duck River dramatically," said George Nolan, Tennessee Director of the Southern Environmental Law Center.
As my colleague Hannah McDonaldpreviously reported this year, eight public water utility companies along the Duck River are seeking permits to remove an additional 19 million gallons of water a day, from the Duck River.
The water companies say they need the additional water because of all the growth in communities upstream from Hickman County — like Shelbyville and Columbia. Nolan thinks there has to be a way to compromise on this issue.
"Basically, we’re pushing for guardrails that will kick in during periods of drought like this," said Nolan.
Possible solutions
Republican State Rep. Jody Barrett, R-Dickson joined us out along the Duck River and told me he agrees with the SELC.
"That needs to change. There needs to be some balance that also takes into effect, what’s left over for downstream communities that are still relying for the river for different interests," said Barrett. "That’s where the government has to step in and take a hold and say, here’s what we need to do to make sure it’s fair and just for everybody."
In the short term, the Southern Environmental Law Center wants Gov. Bill Lee to use emergency power to curtail water usage on the Duck River. Long term, it may be time for communities upriver to look for alternative water sources like getting access to the Cumberland River.
In the time it took us to shoot this story, Don kept on searching for dead mussels.
"It didn’t take 30 minutes to fill up this bag, because I’m old and slow," Hubbs said with a chuckle.
He's worried, it's only the beginning if something doesn't change soon. "How far does that tip that scale for that animal to go completely extinct?" he asked.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Chris.Davis@newschannel5.com.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
