MSU receives $1.1 million grant from KDOW, USEPA
As is the case throughout the United States, the quality of streams in Morehead and Rowan County is suffering from the effects of nonpoint source pollution. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) “nonpoint source (NPS) pollution, unlike pollution from industrial and sewage treatment plants, comes from many diffuse sources. NPS pollution is caused by rainfall or snowmelt moving over and through the ground. As the runoff moves, it picks up and carries away natural and human-made pollutants, finally depositing them into lakes, rivers, wetlands, coastal waters, and even our underground sources of drinking water.”
To combat NPS pollution in the Triplett Creek Watershed, Morehead State University has been awarded a 5-year, nonpoint source pollution control grant from the Kentucky Division of Water and USEPA. Total funding for the grant, including match, is $1.1 million.
Given the scope and complexity of NPS problems, the funded project will involve scientists from MSU, citizens of Rowan County and various local, state and federal agencies. Scientists from MSU’s Institute for Regional Analysis and Public Policy (IRAPP), Department of Biological and Environmental Science, and the Earth System Science Program in the Department of Physical Sciences will lead the technical effort.
Other project activities will be implemented via the Triplett Creek Committee, a collaborative partnership between MSU, the City of Morehead, Rowan County Fiscal Court, Rowan County Health Department, Morehead Utility Plant Board, KY Division of Water, KY Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, the Cooperative Extension Service, the Licking River Basin Team, Licking River Watershed Watch, the Natural Resource Conservation Service, and the USDA Forest Service.
The goal of the grant is to protect healthy streams and to improve the quality of streams in the Triplett Creek Watershed that have already been designated as polluted (impaired). To date, streams listed as impaired by the KY Division of Water include Triplett Creek, Christy Creek, and Dry Creek. Triplett Creek does not support swimming (primary contact) but partially supports aquatic life.
Documented pollutants include pathogens (bacteria), nutrients (e.g., fertilizers), organic enrichments/low dissolved oxygen, and sediment (eroded soil). Christy Creek and Dry Creek, both tributaries of Triplett Creek, are on the state’s second priority impaired waterways list. Both partially support aquatic life (e.g., fish) and are polluted by sediment. Dry Creek also is polluted by nutrients and Christy Creek is listed for unknown pollutants. The North Fork of Triplett Creek is not listed as impaired but observations by citizens and measurements by MSU biologists and geologists suggest that serious water quality issues exist and that stream bank erosion is widespread.
Water monitoring will begin this summer at 31 locations on Triplett Creek and its tributaries. The primary purpose of conducting the water monitoring is to develop and implement a watershed-based plan that prioritizes best management practices (BMPs). BMPs are activities and approaches to land use that are designed to reduce pollutants. Examples of BMPs include maintaining plant cover on land and stream banks to prevent soil erosion and rain gardens to capture storm water before it enters streams. The Triplett Creek Committee will host community roundtables to educate and involve the community in water quality issues within the watershed. The roundtables will be designed to facilitate citizen input and questions.
The grant is a significant contribution to MSU’s mission of assisting regional partners in efforts to act as better stewards of our natural and human resources. In this way, MSU is giving back to the community while providing practical, hands-on educational opportunities for students in the fields of ecology, environmental science, geography, geology, microbiology, and public policy.
The grant was co-written by April Haight, director of the Center for Environmental Education; Dr. Geoffrey Gearner, professor of biology; Dr. Steven Reid, associate professor of geology; and Dr. Christine McMichael, IRAPP associate professor of geography.
Haight will serve as co-director, lead contact for all partners, and grant administrator and can be reached at (606) 783-2455 or by e-mail at a.haight@moreheadstate.edu.
Posted: 5-5-09
