USGS

Drought-related impacts on municipal and major self-supplied industrial water withdrawals in Tennessee, Part A

U.S. Geological Survey, Water-Resources Investigations Report 84-4074A

by F.M. Alexander, L.A. Keck, L.G. Conn and S.J. Wentz

This report is available as a pdf below


Introduction

Adequate supplies of good quality water are essential for Tennessee's continued economic growth and development, maintenance of a high-quality environment, and social well-being. While Tennessee is generally characterized as a water-rich State, the supply of water varies not only seasonally and from year to year, but ilso from place to place. People remember years with an extreme abundance of rainfall as "wet" years. At the other end of the spectrum, people also remember "dry" years when they were not blessed with sufficient water to meet established basic needs. Given this fact, public water-supply systems and large, self-supplied commercial and industrial water users need to be aware of the potential impacts an extended drought may have on their livelihood and lifestyle. During the past decade, many of these users have encountered periodic water-supply shortages during severe and (or) extended drought periods.

This summary provides an overview of the results and findings of a joint cooperative study effort by the Tennessee Division of Water Management, Tennessee Valley Authority, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and U.S. Geological Survey to evaluate existing water use and supply relations in Tennessee for all public water-supply systems and those self-supplied water users whose average daily withdrawal is equal to or greater than 100,000 gallons per day. The study was undertaken to complement, in part, the water law and policy studies requested by the Ninety-Second Tennessee General Assembly in response to concerns identified by Tennessee's Safe Growth Plan and a special joint committee established by the Ninety-First Tennessee General Assembly regarding the adequacy of the State's water resources to meet needs during the late 1980's from both a quantity and quality standpoint.

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