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One of the major ways the Limestone Valley RC&D Council works to improve watershed quality is through advising local farmers on ways to protect the health of streams near their property. Here are some of the ways that farmers with land in the watershed can help maintain its health.* Installing fencing along streams to keep grazing farm animals such as cows out of streams prevents animal waste from being deposited into the watershed. Farm animals contribute a high amount of the fecal coliform bacteria found in streams and creeks.* Utilize alternative watering systems. To ensure farm animals still have enough water to stay healthy, Limestone Valley helps provide different ways to provide and deliver water to the animals to keep them out of creeks and streams.* Plant trees along streams. Planting trees along creek shorelines helps preserve the sediment bed of the creek and improves the overall health of the water and its inhabitants.* Use stream crossings for cattle. Limestone Valley helps purchase bridges and other methods of stream crossing for cows and other farm animals if a farmer’s land is split by a stream in the watershed.Huser said Limestone Valley RC&D is open to assisting any farmer with improving watershed health, and many of the programs to keep the watershed healthy benefit the farmers and their animals with improved safety and soil quality.Limestone Valley uses a cost share program so it can pay for a majority of any project a farmer works with the group on. Anyone interested in more information can contact Limestone Valley at dhuser.lvrcd@gmail.com or 423-544-9076.
The South Chickamauga Creek, along with numerous other streams and creeks in the Catoosa County watershed, is being cleaned up and improved thanks to the South Chickamauga Headwaters Project run by the Limestone Valley Resource Conservation and Development Council.
Limestone Valley is a nonprofit dedicated to improving water quality throughout Northwest Georgia, and representatives have reported that results from initial testing and sampling done on several creeks and streams in the area are looking positive.
“We’re trying to get five streams de-listed as impaired,” said Watershed Program Manager Dan Huser. “Things appear to have improved a lot through our work compared to the sampling done in 2011.”
Concrete data wouldn’t be available until the end of 2016, he said.
Limestone Valley thoroughly samples the waters, fish and invertebrate life of a stream 16 separate times throughout a given year to establish its overall health, he explained.
“It’s a difficult task to de-list the streams as impaired,” said Huser. “It’s a long process, but we believe we can get it done.”
Limestone Valley recently applied for another grant to move forward with more projects in the South Chickamauga watershed. Projects the group is interested include furthering responsible agricultural management practices and septic system removals, as well as stormwater improvement. The organization has removed over 75 failing septic systems from the Chickamauga watershed to keep them from leaking into groundwater, Huser said.
According to Limestone Valley, the Department of Natural Resources for Georgia has listed South Chickamauga as the seventh-most important watershed in the state due to its unique biology and diversity. However, South Chickamauga Creek and numerous other streams in the area have been listed as impaired due to the presence and levels of fecal coliform bacteria and E. coli, which pose a potential human health risk.
“It’s the reason we’re eligible for these grants in the first place,” said Huser. “We’re just looking to keep our waters clean and healthy and restore the impacted and impaired biota.”
Limestone Valley is expecting to hear back about future grants by April, he said. Such funds would be made available in 2017.
Limestone Valley also participates in and organizes several outreach programs each year. Near the end of 2015 the group ran a stream cleanup day that had dozens of local school students volunteering to clear streams in the area of trash and debris. Limestone Valley also recently organized a tree planting event that planted over 300 trees along the shores of Chickamauga Creek.
Those interested in contacting Limestone Valley for more information about septic tank removal or farmland improvement can call 423-544-9076 or email dhuser.lvrcd@gmail.com.