Watershed Management Services Within the Kentucky River Basin

The purpose of this project is to administer and coordinate the watershed management activities of the Kentucky River Authority within the Kentucky River Basin. Specific activities include: 1) Providing technical assistance for watershed management activities within the basin, including coordination of a Kentucky River Basin Team technical advisory group. 2) Representing the Kentucky River Basin at Kentucky Division of Water meetings and at other meetings and conferences. 3) Coordinating the Kentucky River Watershed Watch volunteer water quality sampling program laboratory analyses. 4) Developing an annual water quality assessment of the Kentucky River Basin based on the water quality samples of Kentucky River Watershed Watch. 5) Managing the Kentucky River Authority’s watershed grant program. Ormsbee, Lindell Page 1 of 3 PROJECT JUSTIFICATION The Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute has provided technical and administrative services to the Kentucky River Authority in support of its river operations and watershed management activities since 1997 when the KWRRI was contracted to manage KRA’s role in the Kentucky Watershed Management Framework. Over the years the contract has been updated and modified to more closely align with the specific needs and statutory requirements of the KRA. More specifically, the KWRRI has helped the KRA to fulfill the following statutory requirements: • “Develop and implement comprehensive plans for protecting the water of the Kentucky River basin, and to collaborate with the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet and other state agencies in coordinating Kentucky River basin water resource and water quality activities.” • “The authority may conduct research, collect and interpret data, assemble a data base, disseminate reports on water management issues.” These requirements are met through the following programs which are administered by the KWRRI on behalf of the KRA: • Watershed management and coordination: Employees of the KWRRI work with personnel with the KRA and the Kentucky Division of Water to foster stakeholder engagement across the basin in order to develop activities and projects that fulfill the goals and objectives of the KRA and the Clean Water Act as fulfilled through the Kentucky Division of Water watershed management process. The KWRRI works with the KRA, KYDOW, and local stakeholders to leverage additional grants and financial resources to improve and protect the water quality across the basins. • Interagency coordination and representation: Employees of the KWRRI represent the KRA and the interests of the Kentucky River Basin through the Kentucky Division of Water river basin management team. Ms. Malissa McAlister (a KWRRI employee) serves as the basin coordinator for the Kentucky River Basin. She also leads a basin management team for the Kentucky River Basin made up of a range of stakeholders from across the basin. Dr. Ormsbee travels to Capitol Hill each year to update KY’s congressional delegation on the activities of the KWRRI within the basin as well as the broader needs of the Kentucky River Basin. • Kentucky River watershed watch: The KWRRI works with the Kentucky River watershed watch group to collect and analyze water quality samples from over 100 sites across the basin. KWRRI helps coordinate the collection, analysis, and reporting of the water quality samples. • Annual water quality assessment. The results of the annual KRWW sampling analysis are reported to the KRA each year through a written report which serves as an annual assessment of the water quality across the basin. KWRRI staff also provide the KRA with a summary presentation about the results. • Kentucky river basin grant program. The KWRRI has administered the KRA’s river basin grant program since 1994. Since that time the KRA has awarded nearly 100 grants (where each grant is typically $3,000 or less) totally in excess of $250,000. This highly popular and successful program has helped improve the water quality of the Kentucky River as well as promote the water quality and recreational mission of the KRA. Each year, Ormsbee, Lindell Page 2 of 3 applicants submit proposals to the KWRRI which are then reviewed for technical soundness and then presented to the KRA board. The KRA board then decides what proposals to fund. Following their approval, the KWRRI disperses the grant funding to the recipients and then monitors their progress through a mid-year and a final report. Grant recipients are typically invited to make presentations about their projects at KRA meetings. PROJECT MODIFICATION Historically the services of the KWRRI have been provided to the KRA through an annual one- year contract. At the request of the KRA, the KWRRI is submitting this year’s proposal of services to cover a two-year period. This request is primarily driven by a desire to provide grant recipients with greater flexibility in getting their funding in place and completing their proposed activities. By increasing the total grant pool from an annual allotment of $15,000 to a bi-annual allotment of $30,000, the KRA is provided with greater flexibility in increasing the ceiling of the awards from $3000 to potentially $5,000 so as to provide a greater scope (and potential impact) of the board selected projects. Ormsbee, Lindell Page 3 of 3