GRETNA, Va. -- "It's not your water."

"It's not yours either."

Those were the arguments on two sides of a heated issue -- how much water should be released from Appalachian Power Co.'s Smith Mountain Project -- that drew a crowd of more than 2,000 to a public hearing Thursday evening at Gretna High School.

The meeting had to be moved to the school's football stadium to accommodate the crowd. Pittsylvania County Administrator Dan Sleeper said the fire marshal would shut the meeting down if it was not moved from the 450-seat auditorium.

On one side, the people at Smith Mountain Lake want less water released downstream. On the other side, residents along the Staunton River downstream from the lake generally agree with the utility's proposed water release protocol, which would change the reservoir's outflow from a fixed minimum average to a more flexible amount.

Chuck Neudorfer of Bedford County's Board of Supervisors said the issue is garnering more attention from lake residents because of current low water levels caused by the lack of rain.

"It is certainly heightened by the low lake levels and low river levels," said Franklin County Administrator Rick Huff.

Most areas from Smith Mountain Lake and Roanoke south to the North Carolina state line remain under moderate drought, according to the newest Drought Monitor map released Thursday by the National Drought Mitigation Center in Lincoln, Neb.

Even though some lake-area officials say the proposal will be better for lake residents than the current license, most Smith Mountain Lake residents at the meeting spoke passionately against the proposal.

Renewing the permit is part of Appalachian's multiyear federal relicensing process. Under the project's current license, a minimum daily average release of 650 cubic feet per second is required, regardless of water flowing into Smith Mountain Lake.

The new process being floated would create a more flexible protocol to manage the inflows and outflows -- using such factors as drought and historical trends -- instead of the fixed minimum average used now.

"I support a fair and balanced water release protocol but 'share the pain' has a different meaning on either side of the dam," said John Lindsey, a Penhook resident who said he has studied the water release for nearly 10 years.

Smith Mountain Lake resident Bill Reidenbach said he believes "outflows should mimic nature," which essentially means water released from the reservoir should equal the water flowing into it.

"Input equal output is no more than a red herring to keep full pond at Smith Mountain Lake," said J.T. Davis, president of the Friends of the Staunton River organization.

NASCAR notable and conservationist Ward Burton has interests on both sides of the dam. He is involved with a whitewater park in Franklin County and his wildlife foundation owns property on the Staunton River. Burton is a proponent of the proposed protocol.

"In the new draft permit, there will be more water at all times for Smith Mountain Lake," he said. "At the same time, our downstream interests are protected."

There was a lot of back and forth between both sides Thursday evening beneath the flood lights on the football field.

The one agreement reached Thursday was that the protocol is not ready to be passed. Staunton River advocates want some modifications to be made. Several lake-area officials called for no decision to be made until all interested parties could participate in a September roundtable moderated by the University of Virginia's Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service.

The State Water Control Board will consider Appalachian's proposal Oct. 16.