Blount County (WVLT) – The days continue to wind down on 2007, but if a couple more turn out to be warmer than normal, some Tennessee counties could have their hottest year on record.

Five dozen Tennessee communities remain on a drought watch list, and when it comes to dry weather, that proverbial “other shoe” could start dropping in the spring.

It won’t be a problem in metropolitan areas, such as Knoxville which draw water from the Tennessee, the Cumberland and deep water wells, but hundreds of thousands of East Tennessean’s draw from smaller resources.

Those resources have already been seriously taxed by a lack of rain and by the time it starts to get warm again, they could be tapped dangerously close to dry.

A lack of water could really hurt the regions farmers, like Mack Pate of Blount County.

“We've tried to provide proper feed for the cows, they're producing rather well right now,” Pate said.

The dairy cattle are content these days and his wheat and rye fields are a deep kelly green.

At first glance its difficult to see just how the drought of 2007 has milked Pate’s livelihood.

“The soybeans and crops like that were cut over half,” said Pate. “We filled our silos, but it took at least a third more acreage to fill them than normal.”

He figures his herd will easily eat through the hay and small grain reserves.

“You just try to do the best you can and if you have the same kind of drought next year, we'd have to get rid of a lot of the cattle,” Pate said.

Emergency Management and the Ag Department fear more of the same is not only possible, but likely.

As of Christmas Day, all East Tennessee counties remain classified in extreme drought.

The section of the region that may be at the greatest risk is probably the Southern Cumberland plateau.

Pate irrigated about two years before the last big drought of the mid 80s.

This time around, Alcoa and Maryville, moved much more quickly.

In late October, it took a new pipeline and temporary pump station to end almost a months worth of water restrictions.

“What we're looking at is trying to put in place enough inter-connections,” said Jeff Rose, the director of Maryville Water Quality Control. “At this point it looks like we'll need a new pump station on the Alcoa side, in order to get enough water to us to satisfy our need.

Maryville could have that pump station underway very soon.

Next week, their city council will consider raising water rates 8 percent.

“If we have to pump a lot of water from Alcoa and South Blount, then we may have to raise
rates short term to pay for that,” said Rose.

Back on the farm though, drought or no drought, Pate says you can plan for only so many ifs.

“It happens,” the farmer said, “and it'll happen again. You just cross your fingers and go.”

Cities and counties can not afford to gamble on the drought subsiding.

Maryville and Alcoa are already petitioning for waivers that would give them permission to tap the Little River.

To do so they would have to lower its levels, but it would ease the need to pump from Fort Loudoun Lake.

Crossville and Cookeville are both dependent on Normandy Lake.

They could face tougher choices if a drought stretches in to summer, such as having to haul in water from elsewhere.