Published: September 04, 2009 08:48 am      

One Man's Trash: Lake Tansi water harvesting

It seems to boil down to a matter of trust.

The lake front property owners around Lake Tansi don't trust the city of Crossville. They feel that the city will take enough water from the lake to damage their enjoyment of the lake that they didn't know was under consideration of being used for drinking water when they bought their property.

After writing several articles for the Chronicle about the city's actions on this situation, I was invited out one recent evening to take a cruise around the lake and see what the lake front property owners don't want to see dramatically changed. Ron and Jody Brown have been living at Tansi since last fall and have been actively involved in opposing the issue of the water harvesting of Lake Tansi.

The Browns especially wanted me to see the depth of the lake and how they feel that even a small change in the level of the lake would greatly affect the residents use of and access to the lake. Tansi lake was built in the late 1950s as Harrison Lake by Trade-A-Plane founder Cosby Harrison. It is made up of many fingers that go back into what were once little coves before the lake was created.

In these areas the lake is quite shallow and also a lot of seaweed can quickly clog a boats propeller. Several areas out near the center of the lake are also quite shallow, only 2 to 3 feet. You can tell those areas by the buoys that mark “no wake zones.”

The Browns described their concern for the lake as a “fear of the unknown. We just don't know what is going to happen,” they said. They described the lake as a nature preserve with a wide variety of wildlife including geese and even bald eagles. Residents even put out nesting boxes for water birds and we saw a number of them in the shallow water around the edge of the lake.

The weather for our cruise was spectacular and while I had lived at Lake Tansi briefly some 30 years ago, it was not on the lake, nor had I ever really cruised around lake on the popular pontoon boats that sit at the end of many Tansi docks. And I really appreciated the opportunity to see the lake. I had a chance to see the first house on the lake front that sold for over $1 million just a couple of months ago as well as the marina and great views of Walden's Ridge to the east.

There wasn't a lot of traffic on the lake the evening we were out and the lake is truly a beautiful part of Cumberland County. While I don't share the Browns' high level of concern that the use of Tansi water for drinking will cause any serious degradation to Lake Tansi, I would certainly not like to see any dramatic change to the lake either.

Also along on the cruise was Pam Hofmann, who has organized some 200 lake front residents into a group that has hired a lawyer seeking to protect their interests. Hofmann felt that their attorney should be involved in the current negotiations going on between attorneys representing the city and the Lake Tansi POA, but so far those meeting have been private.

Hofmann also talked about some residents who are considering not shopping in Crossville as a way to protest. She also complained that Tansi residents have no vote in the city's action and no real way to express their opinions on the issue. Hofmann also talked about a public hearing held with a special called meeting in late June that she felt did not allow adequate notice for Tansi residents to attend.

I now know the city and TDEC will soon hold a public meeting on the public water supply at the Palace Theatre Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. Those concerned about having adequate drinking water for the community as well as Tansi residents will have a chance to express their opinions. Citizens with opinions on both sides of the issue are encouraged to attend. Watch the Chronicle for official notices on this meeting.

I have covered the city of Crossville as a news reporter since 1985 first for radio and since 1996 for the Chronicle. During that time I have seen a city government that takes its responsibilities very seriously and tries to look at future needs of the community.

Recently some opponents to the Tansi water harvesting project have claimed that the city could have done better planning in the past to make this action less necessary. As someone who has sat through many long meetings on this topic for over ten years, I can say with certainty that as far as I am concerned, the city has been very judicious in its decision making and has worked very hard to make the best decisions for all those who need water in the county. The current plan to raise the level of Meadow Park lake is by far the most cost effective and will serve the community some 40 to 50 years into the future. The other possible solutions would lead to substantial increases all our water bills.

Another topic brought up by opponents is the small number of customers that the city has outside of Cumberland County. The claim is that the city will sell Tansi water to make a profit. One problem with that untrue accusation is that the city water department is not a “for profit” operation.

Scott Christian of ECE services, engineers on the Meadow Park Lake expansion, told me that once the expanded lake is full it would likely be 10 years before any additional water would need to be pulled from Lake Tansi. He also said failing to raise the Meadow Park dam puts Lake Tansi at even bigger risk of use for future drinking water needs.

City officials have said they do not want to damage Lake Tansi and I firmly believe in their commitment to respect both the lake and its residents.

The bottom line seems to me that those who live on Lake Tansi have come here because they found a community they liked and wanted to live in. And being part of a community sometimes means we share what we have for the good of all. Threats to “shop elsewhere” or “tell people not to move here” seem very counter productive against the community you live in

Lake Tansi can't be an island. The water doesn't belong to the city or Tansi; it belongs to all of us. And all of us need drinking water if the area we love living in is going to continue.