State of the Watershed

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Salt River Watershed Watch
- State of the Watershed - Regulatory
Background - Watershed Watch Program
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Salt River Basin Streams 3,970 miles of
stream 1,200 Square miles
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Surface Water Withdrawal Points
Lebanon Rolling Fork Shelbyville Guist
Creek Taylorsville Salt River Springfield Willisbu
rg Lake Louisville Ohio River
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Population By County
NAME POP1996 Anderson 17384 Boyle
26841 Breckinridge 16577 Bullitt 57469 Carrol
l 9557 Casey 14479 Green 10336 Hardin 93432
Henry 14142 Jefferson 676444 Larue 12715 M
arion 16545 Meade 28014 Mercer 20038 Nelson
33690 Oldham 41930 Shelby 27859 Spencer 802
5 Taylor 22871 Trimble 6982 Washington 10627
Total 1,165,917
Low High
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Land Use in Salt River Basin Urban 12
Forest 30 Agriculture 57
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Percent of Households Connected to Public Sewer
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Salt River Watershed Watch
- State of the Watershed - Regulatory
Background - Watershed Watch Program
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State Water Quality Standards
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Use Support in Salt River Basin
In river miles
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Impaired Streams Causes Sources

• Organics
• Pathogens
• Siltation
• Nutrients
• Low DO
• Metals
• Chlorine
• Pesticides
• Noxious aquatic
• plants

Package plants Urban runoff Agriculture Municipal
plants Combined sewers Septic tanks Dams Highway
construction
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Criteria to Determine Support for Warm Water
Aquatic Habitat
Exceedences for 2 yr. period
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Salt River Basin Use Support
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Swimming Use Support Full Support Partial
Support Non-Support 1998 305b Report
Swimming use Support
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Swimming Use Support Full Support Partial
Support Non-Support 1998 305b Report
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Salt River Watershed Watch
- State of the Watershed - Regulatory
Background - Watershed Watch Program
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Fecal Coliform
Salt River Watershed Watch

• 1998-99 Results
• 200 individuals trained
• 59 monitoring sites

0 - 100 100 - 200 200 - 1000 1000 - 2000 2000 -
10000
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Salt River Watershed Watch
- data showed widespread bacteriological problems
(70 of sites) - high natural phosphorus
levels measured, indicating susceptibility to
nutrient loading - data used by state/federal
agencies in selecting new monitoring sites -
stream specific problems identified and addressed
(poorly operated sewage plants and septic
fields)
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Options for Volunteers

• Monitoring at selected sites
• sites selected from last year
• reference sites
• volunteers to propose new sites
• Participate in specific studies
• Beargrass Creek/Big Rock
• Chenoweth Run
• Water Education for Schools
• Little Kentucky River
• Oldham County Package Treatment Plant Study
• State Fair

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Monitoring

• sign up for one or more of the pre-selected
  sites,
• reference reach, OR propose additional site
• sampling to be conducted on specified days in
  May, July, and Sept.
• Physical and Chemical sampling
• pH, dissolved oxygen, temp., flow, conductivity
• herbicides/pesticides
• fecal coliform
• nutrients, metals, organics
• Habitat Assessment
• Biological
• biological assessment
• biological sampling (selected sites only)
• periphyton assessment (Harrods Creek)

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Beargrass Creek/Big Rock

• Study conducted in collaboration with MSD and
  Friends of
• Beargrass Creek
• Sampling conducted through the summer
• samples taken 5 times per month
• analysis conducted by commercial lab
• DO, pH, temp., conductivity, flow measured
• Big Rock NEVER meets swimming standards
• See http//kywater.org/watch/big_rock/

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Chenoweth Run

• Study to assess water quality of Chenoweth Run,
  eastern
• Jefferson County
• establish water quality baseline for TMDL
  determination
• study impacts of storm water
• conduct habitat assessments through basin
• conducted in collaboration with MSD

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Water Education for Schools

• develop a week-long class on water education
• target audience is elementary and middle schools
• initial development for Nelson
• curriculum to be presented during intercessions,
  at summer day
• camps, and at local nature centers

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Little Kentucky River

• Comprehensive study of Little Kentucky River
  basin
• Sampling conducted through summer
• water quality testing
• habitat assessments
• Collaborative effort of Little Kentucky River
  Watershed,
• and the Henry County Conservation District

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Oldham Co. Package Treatment Plant Study

• Continuation of existing study
• Sampling conducted in July
• sampling below/above up to 10 package treatment
  plants
• in Oldham County
• analysis conducted by UofL lab
• assessment of nutrient, bacteria and physical
  changes to
• water quality
• County is one of the fastest growing in the
  state and is currently
• preparing a comprehensive county plan to
  include how waste
• water will be treated

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State Fair

• theme of this years state fair -- 2001 a water
  odyssey
• 22,000 square foot exhibit
• 250 foot stream and wetland to be constructed
• hydrological models
• 30,000 gallon aquarium with Ohio River fish
• watershed models and maps
• theater to present talks and plays on water
• Courier Journal to publish 340,000 copies of
  8-page
• newspaper insert on water
• Volunteers needed to demonstrate water quality
  testing
• and to construct exhibits