Several solutions are needed to avoid a repeat of last summer's drought scare, and they may include adjusting the Duck River Agency's charter, according to a consensus officials heard during a water utilities summit last week.

State Sen. Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro), who represents Marshall and Maury counties, hosted a brainstorming session at Henry Horton State Park on Thursday with dozens of leaders from water utilities attending with county mayors and other officials.

The next day, Ketron learned, Normandy Lake had retained enough water for its surface to rise to its winter pool altitude. It was 15 days after the first day of spring. Winter pool is usually seen as the low level of the lake in comparison to the summer pool level.

That's just one indication of the concerns over whether Normandy Lake will continue to be an adequate source of water for the Duck River watershed. The lake is the direct source of water for Tullahoma and Manchester. Releases from the dam provide constant flow downstream, but its reliability has been questioned in the face of growth and development.

"It's not going to be just one idea" that will ensure water supplies for the region, Ketron said over the weekend while reflecting on results of the summit. "It will take two to three, but the consensus was to move forward."

As a result, the state senator anticipates leaders of the Shelbyville-based Duck River Agency will meet with officials from Tennessee Valley Authority this month on what steps to take. That would appear to be making decisions toward a feasibility study on raising the level of Normandy Lake so the reservoir will have more water for growth and development throughout the watershed.

That may serve anticipated needs for 15-20 years, Ketron said.

"But we've got to look at the next 50 years," he said.

So, there have been suggestions for an 8-9-mile pipe from Tims Ford Lake, and a much longer pipe from the Tennessee River. Using closed quarries as reservoirs is another idea.

Implementing such ideas may work better with a fundamental change in the charter of the Duck River Agency from one that's charged with the responsibility to protect water quality and quantity. The river agency might acquire authority to sell income tax free bonds and serve as a water authority to control distribution, according to discussion among utility leaders.

As a member of the state Senate Environment and Conservation Committee, Ketron said this week he'd talk with state employees in the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation about what can be done. Ketron noted that it was TDEC that persuaded TVA to reduce the flow of water through Normandy Dam to preserve water supplies for Tullahoma and Manchester.

"If we have to look at changing the structure from a watershed agency to a regional water district, then we can do that," Ketron said, agreeing that time has run out to deal with it during the current session. "It'll be next January. But I hope in the next 6-8 months we'll have some sort of blueprint..."

Ketron organized the water utilities summit by asking county mayors to invite the water utility leaders in their jurisdictions to attend. Ketron counted 60 people attending. Others estimated perhaps 80 people attended.

Bedford County Mayor Eugene Ray noted that the summit organized by Ketron did seem to generate consensus that action is needed, but the group present was not authorized to take such action.

"The sentiment of the crowd was that they want the talking to stop and have something done," Ray said. "They realized they didn't have the authority to do it... that TDEC and TVA would be the ones who would make the decisions...

"We're going to have to do a combination of things: expand the reservoir, increase the source, and look at how we might get a pipeline that will pipe the water back up here.

"And we need to look at conservation with homes that have commodes that don't use so much water," he said. "Wastewater treatment plants have got to be more efficient.

"It's a combination of things, not just one," Ray said.

Amid such a broad view, however, Ray expressed confidence in the executive director of the Duck River Agency, Doug Murphy.

Murphy became the agency's executive in 2006 after a career with TVA and as a result, he understands the culture of the authority, Ray and others have explained.

When Murphy was faced with one suggestion after another during the summit, Ray reported, the agency's executive not only provided a good review of the proposal, but he made it clear that one conclusion should be obvious.

"He put the icing on the cake," Ray said of Murphy's conclusion; "If anything is done, 'It will take a long time.'"

Marshall County Mayor Joe Boyd Liggett noted attendance was good and he saw a consensus that perhaps raising the capacity of Normandy Lake is a solution.

"A 16-inch pipeline from the Tennessee River was mentioned," Liggett said. "A regional water authority was seen as a possibility, and since it (the Duck River Agency) is in place, it was seen as something that could get it off center.

"The consensus of the group was 'Let's do something,'" Ligett said, recalling Ketron's attendance at a river agency meeting six years ago when he heard similar concerns and was told they were talking about what could be done.

Liggett's personal opinion of the idea of raising the level of Normandy Lake is qualified by his desire to see a feasibility study. Lacking that, he said there' still the issue remains on how to fill the reservoir.

As for building new dams; "The environmentalists wouldn't let us do that," Liggett continued.

Asked about water harvesting, the practice of diverting water when flows are high and storing it separately, Liggett reports he spoke with TVA officials on Wednesday last week and there was a representative of the Rogers Group present.

The Rogers Group is probably best known in this area as the business that operates quarries. One of the largest is at Pottsville. The company has bought and closed quarries in the area.

During Liggett's conversation with TVA and Rogers Group officials, the county mayor on Saturday reported, "I said, 'It would be nice if they'd donate the quarry in Lewisburg to solve the problem.'

"They (Rogers) have to have water to settle the dust to do what they do," Liggett said.

Rationing water would impact quarry operations, Liggett said.

As for making the Duck River Agency a water authority, Liggett remained uncertain. He points out that the flow of the river would still be controlled by TVA and TDEC.