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Group seeking to build Columbia Dam on Duck River teams with Ogles to pursue federal funds for study • Tennessee Lookout [1]
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Date: 2025-07-21
A group pushing to resurrect decades-old plans to build a dam on the Duck River in Columbia is working with U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles to secure congressional funding to fast-track a feasibility study.
Columbia Dam Now’s goal is evident in their name: they want the federal government to fund the reconstruction of the Columbia Dam (which was halted in the 1980s and eventually dismantled in 1990s) as soon as possible.
A spokesperson for Ogles confirmed he is “actively working” with U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann — a fellow Tennessee Republican and chairman of energy and water appropriations — and the House Appropriations Committee to “explore what steps can be taken at a federal level to allow for a dam to be built along the Duck River.”
A feasibility study would be the first step of that process. The spokesperson did not address questions about the amount of funding being sought or a decision timeline.
Proponents position the dam as the only way to secure a source of affordable drinking water for fast-growing southern Middle Tennessee and tout the economic development potential of creating a lake in Columbia. Opponents aren’t buying it.
“Don’t Dam the Duck,” a group formed with the help of social media in response to the dam campaign, contends that the project would have detrimental environmental impacts to the already at-risk river, which is recognized as a Class II scenic waterway in Tennessee and the most biodiverse freshwater river in North America. They also have concerns about the dam’s feasibility and what land would be seized to complete the project.
The Columbia Dam is a sensitive subject for the Maury County community, members of which saw their family’s land taken by the government when the dam was greenlit in the 1960s.
The initial dam project ran into several snags, including a lawsuit over environmental impacts, the addition of two mussel species present in the Duck to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s endangered species list, landowner lawsuits, a rising price tag, permitting issues with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a cost-benefit analysis that left scrapping the dam as the project’s strongest positive benefit, according to a 200-page Congressional report on the project published in 1980 and a historical summary from the Duck River Development Agency.
Construction on the dam was ultimately halted in 1983, when the concrete portion of it was 92% complete and earth work was about 60% complete. TVA had purchased around 45% of the land planned for the entire project.
“TVA has no plans at this time to build a new dam or reservoir in our seven-state region. TVA will continue to work with federal, state and local partners to help ensure there is sufficient water supply for communities along the Duck River,” TVA spokesperson Scott Brooks wrote in an email.
Partnership created by Gov. Bill Lee reviewing regional water options
At a public meeting hosted by Columbia Dam Now on July 15, some attendees referred to the ongoing work of the Duck River Watershed Planning Partnership, a 19-person advisory group created by Gov. Bill Lee to shape a plan for the Duck River’s preservation and the fulfillment of regional water needs. That board has met twice and plans to release its first report to the state on Nov. 20.
The Duck River Conservancy, a coalition of landowners dedicated to preserving the river, opposes the revival of the dam project, with Chairman Doug Jones stating it “would completely undercut the Governor’s commitment to preserving the Duck River watershed.” The group cited concerns over ongoing water waste by utilities, drought, and environmental impacts.
Columbia Dam Now is headed by Jerry Bridenbaugh, an attorney and Maury County commissioner, and Jason Gilliam, a member of the Maury County Water System board and chair of the Maury County Republican Party.
Gilliam said he respects the Planning Partnership’s process but intends to hold the group accountable to providing a solution for affordable water. He dismisses other ideas — including a potential pipeline to bring water from the larger Cumberland River — as prohibitively expensive and “asinine.”
“What some people don’t seem to understand and can’t wrap their heads around is the fact that the ability to attain affordable water for us here in the southern counties of Middle Tennessee is gone if we don’t build this dam,” he said.
Sarah Gilliam, a member of the Don’t Dam the Duck group (and distantly related to Jason Gilliam by marriage), disagrees. She said it’s not clear whose property might be taken if the project were to move forward, and questions remain about related infrastructure costs and legal obstacles.
“There are stakeholders in our community who believe that, based on data and research and known information, that having the dam is not the only feasible option,” Sarah Gilliam said. “We understand that people are frustrated and they need water now. But no matter what you do, it’s going to take time, and there’s a partnership very well-suited to do this work, and we would like to see them finish this work and hear what they’ve come up with.”
The Mallory Valley Utility District, which serves more than 5,000 customers in the Franklin, Brentwood and Cool Springs area, is in the process of completing a feasibility study for the pipeline, including its estimated cost, that is slated to conclude this fall.
Columbia Dam Now has spent the last several months collecting non-binding resolutions from various county and city governments in the area to take to congressional leaders as a show of support, Jason Gilliam said. The Columbia City Council and Maury County Commission are among the entities to pass such resolutions.
Should the congressional funding for the feasibility study receive approval, the study could shed light on the proposed footprint of the lake, the modern cost of building a dam in Columbia and the project’s potential benefits and drawbacks for surrounding communities.
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