The foundation for the District's watershed management program is an aggressive water quality monitoring and modeling program that includes physical, chemical, and biological sampling along impaired stream segments in the region. The following are brief summaries of each of these activities:
The District participated in a U.S. EPA National Demonstration study on the Ohio River to determine the impact of wet weather discharges on a large river system (ORSANCO, 2002). This project involved the collection of in stream water quality data during both wet and dry weather periods over a multi-year period. The result of this project is a two-dimensional water quality model for a 70-mile segment of the Ohio River that allows for the simulation of various wet weather control scenarios. To access additional information, click here: http://www.orsanco.org/watqual/rec/cso.asp.
The District has just completed the development of a watershed model of the Banklick Creek Watershed in a report to U.S. EPA titled Watershed Assessment Protocol—Application to Banklick Creek, June 2004. The entire 19 miles of this creek are listed as impaired in Kentucky's 303(d) list. The purpose of this project is to identify the various stressors to the stream and to develop the tools necessary to understand the relative significance of the various pollutant sources so that cost effective controls can be implemented.
The District conducted a comprehensive assessment of the habitat and biological community along the entire length of the Banklick Creek during 2001 and 2002 (Habitat and Biological Community Assessment of Banklick Creek, Kentucky, July 2003.)
