Green-Tradewater River Basin Team Meeting Notes
Bowling Green, KY
March 05, 2008
Attendees: Alanna Storey (WKU-CWRS), Andy Ernest (WKU-CWRS), Andy Lange (KRWA), Annie Holt (Lost River Cave), Carol Schreiber (Warren Co Ext. Serv.), Corrine Mulberry (KDOW), Dale Reynolds (KDOW), Eric Cummins (KF&WS), Jack Wright (WC-SWD), Jana Fattic (WKU-CWRS), Jeffrey Schuhmann (Central KY PRIDE), Jessica Wright (WKU-CWRS), Judy Petersen (KWA), Karla Andrew (WKU-CWRS), Marsha Wallace (WKU-CWRS), Matt Powell (BG Stormwater), Mike Gardner (BGMU), Nancy Givens (BGGreen), Rho Lansden (Lost River Cave), Robert Elrod (Warren Co Stormwater), Tim Slattery (BG Stormwater), Trey Lyon (SDI Maps).
Announcements:
· Judy Petersen announced that the National River Rally will be May 2-5 on the shore of Lake Erie.
· Jack Wright announced there will be a Stormwater meeting March 6 at 3 p.m. in Warren County Fiscal Court.
· KY Water Resources Research Institute Symposium - 3/17 at Marriott 7:30a reg. http://www.uky.edu/WaterResources/
· Statewide MS4 Workgroup – 3/24 Pritchard Center in E’town
· Rain Barrel Program for Bowling Green/Warren Co. – was proposed, agreed to, and a subcommittee was formed.
Brief rundown of CWRS programs and services – Dr. Andy Ernest
1. Technical Assistance for Small Drinking Water Systems
2. Kentucky Center for Wastewater Research
3. Kentucky Institute for Watershed Management Support
4. Water and Wastewater Technician’s Training Institute which will broaden into.
A Energy Efficiency
B. Watershed Management Training
C. Stormwater Management
D.
Dr. Ernest stated that CWRS is to be KY DOW’s “back office’ to provide technical or grunt work to get the job done. Most of this will be done through an interactive website. The goal is to update the Green and Tradewater Basin Status Report by creating a document that is constantly updated. Dr. Ernest showed how the on-line report is available through the open source software “Moodle”.
Last River Basin Status Report (2001)
§ Brief description of last report was given, plus web links where both the 2001 report and the current “work-in-progress” can be found.
Changes since last report
§ Carol Shriver (Warren Co Ext. Svs.) spoke about current agricultural concerns which mainly center on wetlands management and education, plus nutrient management and water rights education. Other concerns are last year’s drought and the anticipation that it may occur again this year.
§ Tim Slattery (BG Public Works - Stormwater) spoke about the Phase II Stormwater program that has been developed since the last report was written. He presented a Powerpoint slide show entitled “Water, Everyone’s Responsibility” that is being presented on Chanel 4 to educate the population about the EPA mandated Phase II Stormwater regulations. The program is far reaching and expensive to implement.
§ Jack Wright (Warren Co Stormwater Program) spoke about BG/Warren Co. Development & Population Growth since the last report date and gave some predictions of future growth. He distributed a report downloaded from South Central Kentucky Prospector: Economic Development Available Sites, buildings, demographics, businesses showing the current and anticipated Bowling Green and Warren county development and population growth. This report is available at http://www.sourtcentralkentuckyprospector.com/.
§ Mike Gardner (BGMU) spoke about drinking/waste water concerns. A recent study looked at projected drinking water demand and available sources. According to the study, the most feasible way to prepare for future water supply demands is to get an increased allocation of water from the ACOE for discharges from Barren River Lake. He mentioned that the recent drought put a strain on their plant that caused them to restrict outdoor useage of potable water to designated days and times. However, they found that this caused demand to increase because people felt a greater “need to water” on their designated day.
Following the presentations, the group discussed issues not previously presented, that this group might want to be included in the Basin Status Report. Corrine Mulberry mentioned that she will review historical data and make some inferences to show trends in water quality and changes of status. Karla Andrew was asked to add towns and roads to the GIS maps to help with orientation.
Nine points were mentioned as being important to consider for the 2008 Status Report.
1. The time frame for the 2008 report. 40 days for tabulation and getting it to the Secretary of State, 30 days for citizen review, and approximately 4 weeks for the mapping of GIS data.
2. The current drought cycle. Example: Barren River Reservoir Allocation for Bowling Green
3. Education. Examples: rain barrels, rain gardens.
4. Watershed planning
5. Notification that several groups are unifying to work on specific projects to take advantage of funding and expertise.
6. Local and regional water regulations.
7. Population trends and demographics including water consumption and land uses.
8. ADDs – Identifying the most critical issues in the Section 2002 planning process.
9. Keeping focus on the uniqueness of the area and its biodiversity. Example: CREP.
Dr. Ernest suggested a summary report from each area operating in the Green and Tradewater River Basins with an environmental or water reference to identify agencies active in this area. Dale Reynolds will contact those on his lists.