CRC222.13 Lake Cumberland MAP_larger3.indd 1 MAP_larger3.indd Cumberland Lake CRC222.13 2/3/14 2:21 PM 2:21 2/3/14 often to keep up to date. to up keep to often cumberlandrivercompact.org visit and Compact Become a member of the Cumberland River River Cumberland the of member a Become • River basin. River our rivers and streams. and rivers our Kentucky that make up the Cumberland Cumberland the up make that Kentucky and other practices that protect the land around around land the protect that practices other and one of 14 watersheds in Tennessee and and Tennessee in watersheds 14 of one our water quality water our Encourage greenways, conservation easements easements conservation greenways, Encourage • The Lower Cumberland Watershed is is Watershed Cumberland Lower The restoration activities. restoration An overview of of overview An Join watershed clean-up efforts and and efforts clean-up watershed Join • Conservancy, Tennessee Chapter. Tennessee Conservancy, waters come from car exhaust and car leaks. car and exhaust car from come waters with assistance from the Nature Nature the from assistance with Drive less — walk or bike; many pollutants in our our in pollutants many bike; or walk — less Drive • TWO and the Kentucky Division of Water Water of Division Kentucky the and in the toilet or the trash. the or toilet the in Environment and Conservation Conservation and Environment Pick up after your dog, and dispose of the waste waste the of dispose and dog, your after up Pick VICTORY • by the Tennessee Department of of Department Tennessee the by drain or the street. the or drain Never pour used oil or antifreeze into the storm storm the into antifreeze or oil used pour Never • sampling collected and interpreted interpreted and collected sampling AVENUE Compact. It is based on current water water current on based is It Compact. not run off. run not decks and walkways; this allows rain to soak in and and in soak to rain allows this walkways; and decks distributed by the Cumberland River River Cumberland the by distributed , Use pervious surfaces like wood, brick or gravel for for gravel or brick wood, like surfaces pervious Use SUITE • Watershed and is produced and and produced is and Watershed mulching mower. mulching water quality of the Lower Cumberland Cumberland Lower the of quality water 300 Recycle yard waste in a compost pile and use a a use and pile compost a in waste yard Recycle • This brochure describes the current current the describes brochure This | organic or slow release fertilizers instead. fertilizers release slow or organic NASHVILLE Do not over apply fertilizers. Consider using using Consider fertilizers. apply over not Do • watering, fertilizers or pesticides in your yard. your in pesticides or fertilizers watering, Use hardy plants that require little or no no or little require that plants hardy Use • , TENNESSEE center. waste hazardous a to them take drain; Don’t pour toxic household chemicals down the the down chemicals household toxic pour Don’t • and rivers. and Keep livestock fenced away from streams streams from away fenced livestock Keep • 37213 barrels or larger cisterns. larger or barrels Harvest rainwater from roof tops using rain rain using tops roof from rainwater Harvest • or removes soil. removes or streams and activity that disturbs, compacts compacts disturbs, that activity and streams Leave a 35’ to 100’ no mow zone between between zone mow no 100’ to 35’ a Leave • rivers clean? rivers keep my streams and and streams my keep What can I do to to do I can What LOWER CUMBERLAND WATERSHED: How our water is being affected The LOWER CUMBERLAND WATERSHED is primarily a rural watershed of agricultural and forested land cover. It measures approximately 2,343 square miles (982 square miles in Tennessee and 1,361 square miles in Kentucky), with a total of # STREAM SEGMENT STATE MILES POLLUTANT SUSPECTED SOURCES OF POLLUTION 1,259 stream miles and 37,000 lake acres. Forty-three percent of the watershed is in Tennessee and 57 percent in Kentucky. 1 Little Bartons Creek TN 4 Pathogens Grazing in riparian zone Seventy-two rare plant and animal species live within the watershed. Two Pathogens, nutrients and Non-irrigated crop production, land development 22 Little McAdoo Creek TN 15 streams in the watershed, Long Creek and Yellow Creek in Tennessee, are of sediment and sources unknown Agriculture, impoundment, municipal point source specific interest and listed on the National Rivers Inventory for their scenic and Nutrients, sediment, discharges, habitat modification, crop production, mercury, pathogens, organic recreational attributes that support game fishery. 3 Little River KY 43 urban runoff/storm sewers, loss of riparian enrichment/oxygen habitat, channelization and streambank depletion and pathogens This watershed includes Lake Barkley Reservoir, which forms the modifications/destabilization Sediment, nutrients and eastern boundary of Land Between the Lakes National Agriculture, livestock (grazing or feeding Sinking Fork KY 33 organic enrichment/oxygen 4 operations) and loss of riparian habitat Recreational Area. depletion Three Kentucky streams in the Lower Cumberland 5 Muddy Fork KY 12 Pathogens Sanitary sewer system failures Watershed are categorized as reference reaches. Agriculture, animal feeding operations (NPS), Pathogens, sediment Eddy Creek KY 7 package plant or other permitted small flows, Sugar Creek, Donaldson Creek and Crooked 6 and unknown Creek in Kentucky are reference reach waters off-road vehicles and sources unknown Livingston Creek and are a representative subpopulation of the Pathogens, nutrients, pH/ Agriculture, grazing in riparian zone, Spring Creek KY 11 acidity/caustic conditions, crop production, loss of ripariarn habitat, least-impacted 7 Crab Creek sediment and unknown channelization and sources unknown streams within Skinframe Creek a bioregion. Agriculture, livestock (grazing or feeding These streams serve as chemical, Claylick Creek Pathogens, nutrients operations), loss of riparian habitat, crop 8 KY 12 physical and biological models from which Cypress Creek and sediment production (crop land or dry land) and non-irrigated crop production to determine the degree of impairment Dredge mining, grazing in riparian or shoreline (physical, chemical or biological) to similar Pathogens, sediment, habitat Sandy Creek KY 2 zone, non-irrigated crop production and 9 alterations and unknown stream systems in each representative sources unknown bioregion. These are not necessarily pristine streams, but represent 10 Donaldson Creek KY 2 Unknown Dredge mining those least-disturbed conditions Channel erosion/incision from upstream hydromodifications, agriculture, crop production that are attainable in South Fork of Bayou 11 KY 7 Nutrients and sediment (crop or dry land), loss of riparian habitat, dredging each bioregion. de Chien (e.g., for navigation channels) and impacts from hydrostructure flow regulation/modification Table # STREAM SEGMENT STATE MILES POLLUTANT SUSPECTED SOURCES OF POLLUTION A majority of streams in the watershed are characterized by coarse chert gravel and sand substrates with areas of bedrock, moderate Ammonia, chlorine, pathogens, nutrients, gradients, and relatively clear water. The oak-hickory natural vegetation Hammond Creek KY 0.2 Municipal point source discharges 12 organic enrichment/oxygen was mostly deforested in the mid- to late 1800s, in conjunction with iron depletion and turbidity ore related mining and smelting of mineral limonite, but now the region 13 Sugar Creek KY 6 Sediment Agriculture is again heavily forested. Some agriculture occurs on flatter areas Antioch Creek between streams and in stream and river valleys: mostly hay, pasture Habitat alterations Grazing in riparian zones and non-irrigated Bud’s Creek TN 16 14 and sediment crop production and cattle with some cultivation of corn Golden Horn Creek and tobacco. 15 Erin Branch TN 14 Pathogens Municipal run-off The Lower Cumberland Watershed 16 Ferguson Creek KY 2 Pathogens and unknown Sources unknown is home to a number of rare species including one amphibian, two 17 Long Pond Branch KY 1 Sediment Sources unknown crustaceans, two fish species and one reptile. The hellbender, eyeless crayfish, 18 Lower Branch KY 6 Unknown Sources unknown blue sucker, Southern cavefish and the Organic enrichment/oxygen 19 Bartee Branch TN 4 Upstream impoundments alligator snapping turtle are among the depletion species that inhabit the watershed. 20 Richland Creek KY 5 Pathogens Sources unknown Small streams, including those that don’t flow all of the time, make 21 Sugar Creek KY 6 Pathogens Sources unknown up the majority of the waters. Streamflow could come from a drizzle of snowmelt running down a mountainside or a spring-fed pond or depression filled with rainwater 22 Wall Branch TN 5 Nutrients Sources unknown that overflows into the stream. These small streams with flow only parts of the year are referred to as headwater streams, and are often unnamed and rarely appear on maps. Yet the health of small 23 Skinner Creek KY 6 Unknown Sources unknown streams is critical to the health of the entire river network and downstream communities. These small streams often appear insignificant, but in fact are very important, as they feed into and create 24 Tributary to Dry Creek KY 2 Unknown Sources unknown our big rivers. Practice good stream stewardship no matter where you live so that we keep these gifts Organic enrichment /oxygen Hematite Lake KY 85 acres Agriculture and sources unknown of nature healthy for future generations. 25 depletion and nutrients Organic enrichment/oxygen Lake Barkley Reservoir TN N/A Cooling water discharges 26 depletion and temperature “The health of our waters is the principal measure Dry Creek to Sediment/siltation and 27 KY 4 Off-road vehicle of how we live on the land.” Eddy Creek pathogens — LUNA LEOPOLD ECOLOGIST AND AUTHOR ALL PHOTOS BY BYRON JORJORIAN CRC222.13 Lake Cumberland MAP_larger3.indd 1 MAP_larger3.indd Cumberland Lake CRC222.13 2/3/14 2:21 PM 2:21 2/3/14 often to keep up to date.