Grant funds are available for Agricultural Best Management Practices and Septic System Repairs
The goal of the project is to improve water quality by installing agricultural best management practices and repairing failing septic systems.
The Flat Creek Watershed spans 68 square miles between Knox, Union, and Grainger counties, with over 30 square miles in northeast Knox County. The Knox County Soil Conservation District and NRCS have identified the watershed as a priority area for restoration due to its 303(d) list status, major land uses, and demographics. The watershed is mostly rural pastoral landscape with a mix of livestock grazing operations of varying sizes and wooded properties. The watershed also contains the 500-acre House Mountain State Natural Area which provides recreation trails and views from its 2,100-foot crest
In total, TDEC has placed 40 miles of creek in the Knox County portion of the watershed on the 303d list as not supporting their designated uses due to levels of E.coli and phosphorus in excess of state standards.
The KCSCD and NRCS have been implementing projects specifically targeted towards water quality improvement in the Flat Creek watershed with funds from the first Flat Creek 319 grant, TDA-ARCF funds, and NRCS-EQIP funds. However, from observation as well as TDEC data it is apparent that there is still opportunity to improve the watershed though implementation of agricultural BMPs. Livestock grazing is a major land use throughout the Flat Creek watershed and many grazing operations will benefit from improvements to reduce impacts on water quality. Through the provision of technical and financial assistance the project partners are certain that vast improvements can be attained. This will lead to numerous environmental benefits including, but not limited to, reduced pathogen and phosphorus loading into the Flat Creek watershed.
Do you have a farm that could benefit from Ag Best Management Practices? Call our office today!
Is your septic system failing? Read about grant funds availability here: images/documents/Flat_Creek_Septic_Sewer_Program.pdf
What watershed am I in? To find out enter your address in the KGIS mapping website here https://www.kgis.org/kgismaps/map.htm. Then on the Maps tab on the upper left click other maps then Watersheds.
This project has been funded by an agreement with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Nonpoint Source Program, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency.