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Our volunteers measure basic parameters of stream
health to determine whether streams meet important “uses” under the Clean
Water Act, including aquatic life, human recreation, and drinking water. We plan to post
information about each of the streams that SRWW monitoring
teams have assessed. In the meantime, follow these links to
documents and websites maintained by the Kentucky Division of Water:
Report
on Water Quality (“305b Report”) The Clean Water act requires
Kentucky to report periodically on the quality of its lakes and streams. The Kentucky Division of
Water is providing statewide summary information every two years, with focus
information on selected basins in each report. The 2002 report included focus
information on Salt River Basin streams and is available through the link
above.
List of impaired
streams (“303d Report”) The Clean Water Act also
requires Kentucky to list streams whose uses (e.g., swimming, fishing,
drinking water) are impaired. This
list, most recently updated in
August 2004, describes the impairments and the state’s
priority to develop a protective plan (“TMDL”) to reduce them. The report uses data submitted by SRWW to
supplement other state and federal information. Link here for our
SRWW analysis that lists Salt Basin streams listed as
impaired in the 2004 report. The Kentucky Division of
Water maintains a geographical information system that can be accessed
online. The Clean Water Act requires
Kentucky to set a “Total Maximum Daily Load” of pollutants for streams that are
impaired. TMDLs currently written for the Salt basin and
posted on the linked web site are for: · Chenoweth Run · Floyds Fork · Harrods Creek · Taylorsville Lake The regulatory scheme used by the Division to
protect Kentucky’s streams may be found in
Kentucky
Administrative Regulations, Title 401, Chapter 5, Water Quality. The Kentucky Environmental
and Public Protection Cabinet has published
Guidelines
for using citizen stream water quality data. |