Working together to improve the water quality in our rivers and streams

Kentucky’s rivers and streams provide abundant habitat for aquatic life, numerous opportunities for recreation, scenic beauty and a source of drinking water for our communities. Across our state, small streams flow directly into larger bodies of water. These streams, rivers and lakes provide us with more than 100 different species of fish and other aquatic life.

But many of Kentucky’s streams and rivers are polluted, are not safe for swimming or fishing, and do not provide a suitable environment for sensitive aquatic species. Water pollution is primarily caused by human activity—wastewater, chemicals, trash and soil can run off the land and end up in our waterways.

(Click for larger view)

A watershed is the area of land where all of the water that is under it or drains off of it goes into the same place. Watersheds cross local, county, state and national boundaries. In the United States, 2,267 watersheds spread across millions of square miles. On a large scale, a river basin is the land area that is drained by a river and its tributaries—there are many watersheds within river basins.

The state of Kentucky is comprised of 12 river basins within its approximate 24 million acres: Big Sandy, Green, Kentucky, Licking, Little Sandy, Lower Cumberland, Mississippi, Salt, Tennessee, Tradewater, Tygarts and Upper Cumberland. Within the 12 river basins in Kentucky, smaller subbasins exist. Central Kentucky includes the Lower Kentucky River subbasin, which spans portions of 25 counties.

The Dix River is part of the Lower Kentucky River subbasin and is highly polluted. This river and its tributaries have been found to have elevated levels of E.coli, a pathogen that can cause gastroenteritis and other health complications in humans. Some areas of the watershed have exceptionally high levels of E.coli that make streams unsafe for fishing, swimming, wading, and other kinds of water recreation. Sites recently sampled averaged at least four times the limit for E. coli. While livestock farms contribute to E.coli contamination in rural streams, extensive water testing and analysis has shown that contamination in the Dix River watershed is primarily from human waste sources, likely from failing septic systems and straight pipes.

Dix River Watershed (Click for larger view)

To help improve water quality in the Dix River watershed, Bluegrass Greensource offers homeowner workshops in Boyle, Garrard and Lincoln counties. Participants will learn about local watersheds and water quality, how to properly care for septic systems, and how to identify problems with septic systems.

Following each workshop, participants can apply for a cost-share grant for septic system repairs or for a free septic tank pumpout. To be eligible for the grants, homeowners must reside within the Dix River watershed in Boyle, Garrard or Lincoln counties. The next free septic system workshops will be held in October in Garrard, Lincoln and Boyle counties. Visit www.bgGreensource.org this fall for additional information.

This program is funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under section 319(h) of the Clean Water Act, through the Kentucky Division of Water.
Bridget Abernathy Photo

Bridget Abernathy is an outreach specialist at Bluegrass Greensource, focusing on the Live Green Lexington Partners Program and the Dix River Watershed Septic Assistance Program. Before joining Bluegrass Greensource, she worked in the Stewardship Program with Kentucky Division of Forestry. Bridget received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Kentucky.

This article appeared in KY Forward on August 6, 2015.

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Improving Water Quality in Central Kentucky’s Rivers and Streams

unnamed2Kentucky’s rivers and streams provide abundant habitat for aquatic life, numerous opportunities for recreation, scenic beauty, and a source of drinking water for our communities. Across our state, small streams flow directly into larger bodies of water. These streams, rivers, and lakes provide us with more than 100 different species of fish and other aquatic life. But many of Kentucky’s streams and rivers are polluted, are not safe for swimming or fishing, and do not provide a suitable environment for sensitive aquatic species. Water pollution is primarily caused by human activity—wastewater, chemicals, trash, and soil can run off the land and end up in our waterways.

unnamed3A watershed is the area of land where all of the water that is under it or drains off of it goes into the same place. Watersheds cross local, county, state, and national boundaries. In the United States, 2,267 watersheds spread across millions of square miles. On a large scale, a river basin is the land area that is drained by a river and its tributaries—there are many watersheds within river basins. The state of Kentucky is comprised of 12 river basins within its approximate 24 million acres: Big Sandy, Green, Kentucky, Licking, Little Sandy, Lower Cumberland, Mississippi, Salt, Tennessee, Tradewater, Tygarts, and Upper Cumberland. Within the 12 river basins in Kentucky, smaller subbasins exist. Central Kentucky includes the Lower Kentucky River subbasin, which spans portions of 25 counties.

unnamed1The Dix River is part of the Lower Kentucky River subbasin, and is highly polluted. This river and its tributaries have been found to have elevated levels of E.coli, a pathogen that can cause gastroenteritis and other health complications in humans. Some areas of the watershed have exceptionally high levels of E.coli that make streams unsafe for fishing, swimming, wading, and other kinds of water recreation. Sites recently sampled averaged at least four times the limit for E. coli. While livestock farms contribute to E.coli contamination in rural streams, extensive water testing and analysis has shown that contamination in the Dix River watershed is primarily from human waste sources, likely from failing septic systems and straight pipes.

To help improve water quality in the Dix River watershed, Bluegrass Greensource offers homeowner workshops in Boyle, Garrard, and Lincoln Counties. Participants will learn about local watersheds and water quality, how to properly care for septic systems, and how to identify problems with septic systems. Following the workshop, participants can apply for a cost-share grant for septic system repairs, or for a free septic tank pumpout. To be eligible for the grants, homeowners must reside within the Dix River watershed in Boyle, Garrard, or Lincoln Counties.

The next free septic system workshop will be held on:

  • Saturday, July 18th
    10:00-11:00 am
    Lincoln County Health Department
    44 Health Way
    Stanford, KY 40484

This program is funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under section 319(h) of the Clean Water Act, through the Kentucky Division of Water.

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Where does your water shed? Find out, then do your part to keep it clean

Several years ago while attending a conference, I chose a session on “Rain Gardens.” As a horticulturist with a penchant for native and heirloom plants, I found the concept intriguing.

To my surprise, the presenter started out by asking if we could identify our watershed. “My what?” This led into an unexpected but undeniably interesting talk about storm water runoff, storm drains emptying directly into our streams, and “best management practices” for handling this runoff – finally, we were talking about rain gardens!

Little did I realize that a few years later I would be planning watershed festivals in four nearby counties, and using an Enviroscape portable, interactive model as an educational tool in classrooms throughout Central and Eastern Kentucky. Now I am the one asking students “So where does your water shed?”

Now I know that a watershed is the land area that drains (or sheds) rainwater runoff into a common water body (and that land use within that area affects the quality of the water). In Kentucky, with our Karst topography, this affects both surface and underground water.

Ironically, when using the watershed Enviroscape, the kids’ favorite part of the demonstration is watching the water with red food coloring pour out of the factory and into the stream (indicating “point source” pollution). But, as educators, we focus more on “nonpoint source,” or “runoff,” pollutants that are carried in rainwater runoff, and what we, as conscientious citizens, can do to prevent that pollution.

The easiest of all these “best management” practices is: Don’t litter. Take personal responsibility, recycle and make sure that your bins have secure lids.

Next, use fertilizers and pesticides sparingly, opting for composting yard and kitchen waste and choosing other ways of deterring pests, like companion planting. Install a rain garden to capture runoff in your yard and/or a rain barrel to catch rooftop runoff and conserve water.

Plant native flowers, grasses and trees, with deep roots, to prevent erosion and reduce topical watering. This is especially important near waterways, creating a “riparian” buffer to filter out pollutants.

Pick up after your pets, and if you farm, keep livestock out of the streams to prevent erosion and large amounts of waste from entering our watershed.

Maintain your septic system to prevent human waste from entering our streams. Maintain vehicles to prevent leakage of oil, gas and other fluids. And remember, our storm drains lead directly into our streams, so don’t sweep any contaminants into the street or down storm drains.

I participate in volunteer water sampling for Kentucky River Watershed Watch in my local watershed, the Mock’s Branch/Spears Creek sub-watershed of the Dix River. I find that identifying my watershed and participating in testing gives me a personal investment in the quality of the water that flows behind my home.

Bluegrass Greensource is partnering with two Central Kentucky Earth Day Festivals that focus on our watersheds this month: The Garrard and Lincoln County Earth Day Festival at Garrard County High School, held last Saturday in Lancaster; and the Boyle Co. Earth Day Festival at Bluegrass Community and Technical College campus in Danville on Saturday, April 25, from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Bluegrass Greensource will also participate in a Cane Run Watershed Celebration at Night Market in Lexington in May 1, and a Kentucky River Watershed Festival to be held at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill on Sept. 5. Come on out and join us!

1 deborah-larkin-1

Deborah Larkin joined Greensource in 2010 as an environmental educator. She works with numerous schools in Fayette County as part of Greensource’s partnership with LFUCG and is responsible for outreach activities in Boyle, Clark, Garrard and Lincoln counties. She received her bachelor’s in horticulture from the University of Kentucky. Before coming to Greensource, Larkin worked for 27 years at the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, near Harrodsburg, where she researched and re-established the 19th century apple orchard, herb garden and heirloom seed industry.

This article appeared in KY Forward on April 23, 2015.

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So, what’s your watershed? Find out, then work to keep pollutants out

Several years ago while attending a conference, I chose a session on rain gardens. As a horticulturist with a penchant for native and heirloom plants, I found the concept intriguing.

 
(Graphic from EPA.gov)(Graphic from EPA.gov)

To my surprise, the presenter started out by asking if we could identify our watershed. “My what?” This led into an unexpected but undeniably interesting talk about stormwater runoff, storm drains emptying directly into our streams, and “best management practices” for handling this runoff – finally, we were talking about rain gardens.

Little did I realize that a few years later I would be planning watershed festivals in three nearby counties and using the Watershed Enviroscape model as an educational tool in classrooms throughout Central and Eastern Kentucky. Now I am the one asking students “So what’s a watershed?” (and no, it is not a shack by the water).

Now I know that a watershed is the land area that drains (or sheds) rainwater runoff into a common water body (and that land use within that area affects the quality of the water). In Kentucky, with our Karst topography, this affects both surface and underground water.

Ironically, when using the Watershed Enviroscape, the kids’ favorite part of the demonstration is watching the water with red food coloring pour out of the factory and into the stream (indicating “point source” pollution). But as educators, we focus more on “non point source” or “runoff” pollutants that are carried in rainwater runoff, and what we, as conscientious citizens, can do to prevent that pollution.

The easiest of all these “best management” practices is don’t litter. Take personal responsibility, recycle and make sure that your bins have secure lids.

Next, use fertilizers and pesticides sparingly, opting for composting yard and kitchen waste and choosing other ways of deterring pests, like companion planting.

Install a rain garden to capture runoff in your yard and/or a rain barrel to catch rooftop runoff and conserve water.

Plant native flowers, grasses and trees, with deep roots, to prevent erosion and reduce topical watering. This is especially important near waterways, creating a “riparian” buffer to filter out pollutants.

Pick up after your pets, and if you farm, keep livestock out of the streams to prevent erosion and large amounts of waste from entering our watershed.

Maintain your septic system.

Maintain vehicles to prevent leakage of oil, gas and other fluids.

And remember, our storm drains lead directly into our streams, so don’t sweep contaminants into the street or down storm drains.

I participate in volunteer water sampling for Kentucky River Watershed Watch in my local watershed, the Mock’s Branch/Spears Creek sub-watershed of the Dix River. I find that identifying my watershed and participating in testing gives me a personal investment in the quality of the water that flows behind my home.

Want to find out about your watershed? If you live in Lexington, click here. Outside Lexington, visit Surf Your Watershed here or Kentucky River Watershed Watch here.

 
1 deborah-larkin-1Deborah Larkin joined Greensource in 2010 as an environmental educator. She works with numerous schools in Fayette County as part of Greensource’s partnership with LFUCG and is responsible for outreach activities in Boyle, Clark, Garrard and Lincoln counties. She received her bachelor’s in horticulture from the University of Kentucky. Before coming to Greensource, Larkin worked for 27 years at the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, near Harrodsburg, where she researched and re-established the 19th century apple orchard, herb garden and heirloom seed industry.

This article appeared in KY Forward on April 24, 2014.

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