The Tennessean highlighted the “David vs. Goliath” fight Hickman County is facing in a recent edition. Hickman County Commissioner, Keith Nash, shared his thoughts on the WADC’s secrecy throughout the entire application process. 

Link from the Tennessean story at the bottom.

Did you know that the Duck River in Tennessee is North America’s most biologically diverse freshwater river and one of three hot spots for fish and mussel diversity in the entire world?!

Lick Creek flows directly into the Duck River and is classified as an “exceptional Tennessee waterway” due to the presence of the Coppercheek darter, a small, near-threatened freshwater fish found *only* in the Duck River system.

• What should you know about Lick Creek and the Coppercheek darter?
  The Water Authority of Dickson County is proposing a new wastewater treatment plant along Lick Creek in Hickman County. Supporters say the project is needed to handle population growth in nearby Dickson and Williamson counties.
  
  
• Residents are worried about wastewater going into Lick Creek and argue they don't have enough say in the matter. Harpeth Conservancy has been working with Friends of Lick Creek, a local group fighting to prevent pollution from the proposed wastewater treatment plant.
  
  The Issues:
  
  
• Rapid development, population growth, and a growing demand for highly treated wastewater=increased threats to Tennessee’s already impaired waterways.
  
  
• A 2022 state water quality report found that nearly 60% of assessed streams and rivers were impared with pollution to some degree, up from 42% in 2012.
  
  
• Michael Adams, executive director for the Water Authority of Dickson County, in an email said water quality models for the new treatment plant show that Lick Creek would meet all federal and state standards for pollution discharge.
  
  
• Permits, however, do not require testing for “contaminants of emerging concern” like pharmaceuticals and personal care products, which are becoming more frequent in waterways, said Harpeth Conservancy’s CEO Dorene Bolze to The Tennessean. Bolze also mentions that there are no studies to show how those types of contaminants could impact aquatic species like the Coppercheek darter.
  
  

Tennessean: How one rural county is fighting to save a pristine creek from pollution as Middle Tennessee grows (1/5/2023)