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Water Quality Field Day - Summary of the Activities

What are the Impacts on Water Quality in the upper Salt River Watershed?

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Kentucky Division of Conservation, hosted a water-quality field day on Saturday, April 24, 2004, at the Central Kentucky Technical College in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky (Anderson County), from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. The field day began at the college with the keynote speaker, Larry Cox, State Director and representative for Senator Mitch McConnell. Additional presentations were made by Pennie DuBarry (USGS) on karst terrain and by Mark Ayers (USGS) on water-quality and land-use changes in the upper Salt River Watershed.

Participants traveled to the onsite wastewater-treatment facility located on the college campus after the classroom presentations were completed. At the facility, Steve Blandford, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) discussed soil and rock type in the region and why they are important to people interested in nonpoint-source pollution. Steve also discussed why rock and soil type are important in determining what type of wastewater-treatment system should be installed at a site, as well as the amount of fertilizer that needs to be put on crops. Mike Davis, Director of the Alternative Onsite Wastewater Training Center, gave an overview of the various types of onsite wastewater-treatment systems available and the importance of proper location and installation of the systems.

From the college, participants traveled to Hammonds Creek (located in Anderson County) for a presentation by Russ Barnett, Salt River Watershed Watch (SRWW) on how citizens can participate in water-quality monitoring. Russ afforded field-day participants an opportunity to sample Hammonds Creek for dissolved oxygen and pH. During the sampling process, Russ discussed the importance of riparian vegetation to water quality and the importance of the tree canopy in providing shade to cool streams as well as providing habitat for aquatic life.

Participants traveled to the Van Buren boat ramp on Taylorsville Lake (Anderson County) after collecting samples at Hammonds Creek. Along the route, participants had the opportunity to view the karst landscape, a development site where silt fences had not been properly placed, areas along the creek where riparian vegetation had been destroyed, and livestock grazing in the creek.

At the Van Buren boat ramp, participants were greeted by Keith Richardson, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE); Kerry Prather, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR); and Ben Lyle, Kentucky Division of Forestry (KDF).

Keith discussed how high levels of nutrients in the lake affect the operation of the lake control tower and how they affect the lake thermocline (the area of water in a lake where there is a fast decrease in dissolved oxygen and temperature). He also discussed the USACE water-quality sampling process and how the USACE uses multilevel gates to improve downstream water quality.

Kerry discussed the effects of nonpoint-source pollution on Taylorsville Lake and how difficult it is to obtain a balance among fish species. Kerry related the imbalance in fish species to the high levels of nutrients from natural and human-related activities that affect plankton and productivity levels in the lake.

Ben discussed how a forest could help protect water quality by providing shade to streams, providing bank stabilization, and minimizing slope erosion by leaf-litter and tree canopy. Ben explained that when performing silviculture operations it is important to try and protect water quality by establishing streamside-management zones and properly installing erosion-control structures to limit erosion from a forested area.

Field-day participants traveled to the Jones’ farm in Spencer County after the field presentations. Along the way, participants viewed cattle in the creek, karst landscape, and homes that are not on sewer lines located next to the creek.

Kelly Bennett, NRCS, met us at the Jones’ farm and explained some of the best-management practices (BMPs) that Mr. Jones had implemented on his farm, such as fencing off his pond to keep his cattle out while providing a proper watering area for them. This was done to keep the animal waste out of the pond and to prevent bank erosion and sediment from getting into the pond. Kelly explained how fescue grass was planted on the sloped area around the barn because it is more resistant to erosion. He also talked about the stack pads in the barn that Mr. Jones uses to handle manure. Kelly brought it to the group’s attention that Mr. Jones was awarded “Master Conservationist” because he has implemented 90-percent of his ag-water-quality plan.

We drove through Shelby and Anderson Counties on the way back to the college. The ride through the countryside provided field-day participants an opportunity to reflect on the events of the day and to view the landscape hopefully in a new light.

This work was done by the U.S. Geological Survey and was funded, in part, by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under §319(h) of the Clean Water Act through the Kentucky Division of Water to the Kentucky Division of Conservation (Grant # C9994861-98).