Refer
to Kentucky River Basin Assessment Report
prepared
by the University of Kentucky
Kentucky
Water Resources Institute (KWRI)
|
OVERVIEW Geography. The Tenmile Creek watershed occupies northwestern
Grant County and adjacent corners of Gallatin, Boone, and Kenton Counties.
The land is in the hills of the bluegrass subregion of the Bluegrass
physiographic region, characterized by hilly terrain, very rapid surface
runoff, and slow groundwater drainage. The watershed lies partly above thick
layers of easily dissolved limestone that form carbonate aquifers.
Groundwater flows through channels in the limestone, so caves and springs are
common in regions with this geology. Other areas lie above interbedded
limestones and shales (>20% limestone, allowing groundwater flow where the
clay content is low enough). Waterways. Tenmile Creek empties into Eagle Creek near Folsom.
Among the creeks that feed it are Kittle Run, Bullock Run, Sulphur Lick
Branch, North Fork, Little Tenmile Creek, Arnolds Creek, Flat Creek, and
Napolean Branch. Land and water use. Land in the watershed is about 60% agricultural,
30% rural and wooded, and 10% residential or commercial. The surface waters
of the watershed supply the drinking water for the Bullock Pen Water
District. Five businesses and organizations hold permits for discharges into
the creeks. See tables for details. Agency data assessment. The assessed creek segments in this watershed
include one (Arnolds Creek) that only partially supports its designated uses,
based on biological and/or water-quality data. Siltation contributes to the
impairment of the stream. See tables for details. Watershed rankings. The ranking formula provides a preliminary ranking
by synthesizing a broad spectrum of watershed characteristics, current
conditions, and threats. This watershed ranks in the group with the lowest
need for protection and/or restoration. This rating is for the watershed on
average: particular sites and particular waters within the watershed may vary
widely. See tables for details. Volunteer data. Volunteer data were collected in this basin in
1998, 2001, 2002, 2003. |
|
Site |
Date |
Location |
County |
D.O. |
pH |
Temp |
Fecal
Colonies /100 ml |
Total
coliforms / 100 ml |
Atypical coliforms
/ 100 ml |
Ratio
AC/TC |
|
K30 |
7/23/1998 |
Ten
Mile Cr. |
Grant |
|
|
|
700 |
|
|
|
|
K30 |
7/13/2002 |
Ten
Mile Cr. |
Grant |
5.6 |
7.5 |
23 |
1500 |
|
|
|
|
K030 |
8/3/2002 |
Ten
Mile Cr. |
Grant |
|
|
|
430 |
4,100 |
31,500 |
7.68 |
|
K265 |
8/3/2002 |
Bullock
Pen Cr. |
Grant |
|
|
|
102 |
2,200 |
11,800 |
5.36 |
|
K30 |
7/12/2003 |
Ten mile Cr. |
|
|
|
|
1310 |
|
|
|
|
K265 |
7/12/2003 |
Bullock Pen Cr. |
|
|
|
|
620 |
|
|
|
According to the Kentucky River Basin Management Plan, 2002,
which can be found at www.uky.edu/WaterResources/Watersheds,
“The assessed segments in this (the Ten
Mile Creek) watershed include one (Arnold’s Creek) that only partially supports
its designated uses, based on biological and/or water quality data. Siltation
contributes to the impairment of the stream.”
See also the 2000 303(b) Report to Congress (see maps above)
showing use designations for Arnold’s Creek of Eagle Creek. This is colored
yellow to represent partial support for aquatic life and is at the far upper
right of the map.
Data collected since 1998 in this watershed suggest that
with fecal levels as high as 1500 in this area, there is a need for further
study. And data from the 2000 303(d)
lists the segment of the Eagle Creek just downstream for the Ten Mile Basin is
nonsupporting in several categories.
The Northern Kentucky Health Department is spearheading a
319(h) grant through the Kentucky Division of Water and the EPA for a project
to eliminate straightpipes, repair troublesome septic systems, reduce silt and
animal waste and educate citizens and schoolchildren about watershed protection
in selected watersheds located in Grant County. This effort is in response to years of data, some of which has
been generated by our organization, that show the Eagle Creek in Grant and
Gallatin Counties has high levels of pathogens, and as a result is non-support
for uses in several categories in the 2002 EPA 303(d) list. In addition, there is
a TMDL under development for the portion of the creek that will be the most
affected by our efforts.
This project is based on the idea that significant
reductions in the pollutants that enter a large stream from the smaller streams
that make it up can help alleviate the pollution level in the larger stream and
that this can be done on a limited budget and a in a manageable scale.
This project seeks to demonstrate that improvement to water
quality can be achieved by systematically targeting watersheds of a limited
size (less than 50,000 acres) through a combination of reducing the amount of
sewage entering the waterways, agricultural best management practices and water
quality education efforts for the public and in local schools. In this case, Ten-Mile Creek, and Arnold’s
Creek are the target tributaries. The goal is to reduce the level of pathogens
and siltation in these creeks that lead to the most polluted section of Eagle
Creek.
A study being conducted by the University of Kentucky is
near completion that shows not only the level of bacterial contaminants in
Eagle Creek but also the likely sources of contamination. By comparing numbers
of different types of bacteria that are typically found in sewage, educated
guesses can be made about the likely sources of contaminants. Since human
sewage is suspected to be most likely source of the pathogens that pollute
these waterways, this grant project will address problem septic systems and
straightpipes in these tributary basins.
Because silt and farm animal manure also appear to
contribute to the impairment of these creeks, this project will also employ
best management practices such as stream bank restoration, and grassed buffer
strips along streambanks, that can reduce silt and possibly sewage and animal
waste entering the creeks.
In conjunction with this grant effort, Ten Mile Water Watch,
volunteers Tony and Amy Powell are asking the steering committee to consider
our request for a focus study that will supplement existing data for this grant
project, and will provide insight into where to focus efforts to reduce
pathogens.
We would like to sample in 6 locations within this watershed
twice a month for May 2004 to October 2004, and May 2005 until October 2005.
Pending agreement and QA/QC assurances, we may use the lab at Northern Kentucky
Water District for the analysis.
Otherwise, we would like to use Dr. Ormsbee’s UK lab if arrangements can
be made.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Tony
Powell at 859-363-2049 or 859-428-2298, or tony.powell@ky.gov.
Tony Powell, R.S.
Ten Mile Creek Water Watch
Area Coordinator for Lower
Kentucky region
Senior Health
Environmentalist/Educator,
Northern Kentucky Health
Department
Approved
by the Kentucky River Watershed Watch (KRWW) Steering Committee:
_____________________________ _____________________
Name Date