Strong Streams Newsletter 🐟🌷🌞

Mosaic mural installation at the Karns Senior Center, near the Knox County Sports Park.

Educating the Community, Piece by Piece
Strong Streams: Beaver Creek at Karns Mosaic Mural

During a beautiful week in June, several people gathered for a unique opportunity to be part of the community-wide art installation at the Karns Senior Center. Knox County Stormwater, in partnership with Knox County Senior Services, had spent the last year working with a local artist named Jillian Hirsch to create a mosaic mural, and in June of 2018, that project came to fruition.

The mural, called Strong Streams: Beaver Creek at Karns, is focused on healthy headwaters. Jillian worked with Knox County Stormwater staff on a design that illustrates native flora and fauna that is an important component of a riparian buffer, especially alongside headwaters. The mural depicts a stream that begins in the mountains, winds through trees and native plants, and features fish and a beaver along the way. The project officially kicked off with a series of three hands-on workshops that were focused on bringing senior citizens and youth together to learn about water quality through the creation of special tiles for the mosaic mural. Ms. Hirsch led the workshops by showing participants how to sketch, etch and glaze custom tiles that would eventually be adhered to the mural wall. Tile designs included those with redbud trees, fox sedges, and tulip poplars. At the end of the three workshops, community volunteers not only got a lesson in stream health, but also in artistic expression.

After another month or so of material prep, the tiles were ready for installation. Folks met at the mural site to begin installation, starting with setting the tiles in place with mortar. Throughout the week, community members would show up to the mural site to assist with and contribute to the installation. In just 6 short days, the mural was complete!

On July 17^th, 2018 at 4:30pm, everyone is invited to the Karns Senior Center (8042 Oak Ridge Hwy) for the official unveiling of the mosaic mural with Mayor Burchett. Following the celebration there will be a cookout!

Knox County Stormwater is proud to have partnered with Jillian Hirsch, Knox County Senior Services, Knox County Parks Dept, and the Tennessee Arts Commission on this project. A big thank you to the community sponsors who made this project possible: Beaver Creek Kayak Club, Alisa Pruett (Keller Williams), West Knox Utility District, S&ME Inc., Fulghum, MacIndoe, & Associates Inc., Water Quality Forum, Visit Knoxville, Karns Community Club, Kirby Plants, Rep. Roger Kane, and the Karns District 6 Democrats.

Tennessee River Runoff 5K & Cheers to Clean Water Celebration

Join the Tennessee Stormwater Association (TNSA), University of Tennessee, Knox County Stormwater and the City of Knoxville Solid Waste Department for Knoxville's 2nd Annual Tennessee River Runoff 5K & Cheers to Clean Water Celebration -- an event showcasing the ways that we can help to protect our local streams and rivers with green infrastructure! The 5K-certified, chip-timed race will take runners and walkers through the campus of the University of Tennessee, passing by rain gardens, bioswales, created wetlands, and other methods that UT uses throughout campus to lessen water pollution. Racers will also get to catch a view of the Tennessee River.

Attendees can enjoy local craft beer while exploring the world of water quality and stream health by visiting our educational vendor booths. Kids can participate in the on-site scavenger hunt, as well as other kid-friendly water activities. Race Day is Friday, October 5, 2018. Registration begins at 5:00 PM and Race Start Time is 6:00 PM. The start and finish location is the University of Tennessee Gardens located at 2518 Jacob Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996. Click here to register!

East TN Development Symposium will be held March 12-13, 2019 at the Crowne Plaza in Knoxville, TN.

This two-day event is a powerful platform to network with hundreds of professionals and to share knowledge, lessons learned, and best management practices in the development field. This year, the Tennessee Stormwater Association (TNSA) is partnering with East Tennessee municipalities, the Home Builders Association, engineering firms and other development stakeholders to offer a conference that expects to attract 300 attendees working in all aspects of the development industry.

For more info about the call for speakers, sponsorship opportunities and registration, visit the TNSA website.

2018 Storm Drain Style-Off

This summer, select artists will paint unique designs on library storm drains in the county. Keep an eye out at the following library branches from August 1st - August 19th, for artists in action! The five branches are Cedar Bluff, Fountain City, Halls, Howard Pinkston, and North Knoxville. On September 7th, visit Downtown Knoxville during the First Friday event to see pictures of the drains exhibited at The Emporium (100 S. Gay St), and vote for your favorite design. Or go check out the drains in person! Voting will be open September 7th through September 30th. More information about the Storm Drain Style-off can be found at our website and our Facebook page.

Knox County Stormwater has grant funds for repairing septic systems and installing agricultural best management practices in the Roseberry Creek watershed in East Knox County. If you live in this watershed and are experiencing septic system failures or erosion on your farm, you may qualify for 75% cost-share funding for repairs! More HERE.

Need to report dumping into a storm drain? If there is something other than rain water going into a drain, let us know and we will investigate. Storm drains go directly to streams! Oil, trash, and dog waste should not be put down the storm drain. To make a report or to get more info, go to our website.

2017-2018 CAC AmeriCorps members; Knox County Stormwater.
From left to right: Yohana Dierolf, Rachel Bruck, Claire Jordy, Emily Lachman

Quarterly updates from our CAC AmieriCorps Team members

Knox County Stormwater was fortunate to place four members of the CAC AmeriCorps’ Environmental Corps into our projects and fieldwork over the past ten months. During the AmeriCorps term of service from August 8, 2017 to June 29, 2018, the team of four members accomplished a variety of tasks and a huge volume of work. The staff will miss the team and wishes them well in their future adventures! In their own words, they share some of their most meaningful experiences and plans for the future.
Yohana Dierolf : I really enjoyed the opportunity to serve with Knox County Stormwater this year! Never knowing quite what we would stumble on while out in the field kept things interesting, but my favorite part of this term has definitely been the days that we spend in the classrooms around the county. Awareness of water and understanding the impact that our individual actions can have on the quality of the water that everyone needs to survive is so important. Being able to teach young kids is super fun and also has the longest lasting impact of anything that we did this year. Once my AmeriCorps term in Knox County ends, I will be moving to Indianapolis to begin a second AmeriCorps term serving with an organization focused on youth mentorship.
Rachel Bruck: My AmeriCorps term with Knox County Stormwater has certainly been a unique experience. I didn’t know much about stormwater before I started my service here. Now I’m constantly critiquing the quality of the storm drain infrastructure on the side of the road (even when I’m not at work). My favorite part of the term was surveying the streams throughout the county. It was truly eye-opening to find the many strange objects that people have carelessly thrown into our streams. I also enjoyed helping out with the Adopt-A-Stream program and educating children at school events. After my AmeriCorps term ends, I might stay in Knoxville a little while longer. Then, with a goal of continuing to work toward environmental conservation efforts, I will be moving to wherever the road of life takes me.
Claire Jordy : I really enjoyed my AmeriCorps term with Knox County Stormwater and learning more about stormwater in general, especially from a government perspective. The stormwater discharge permit requires so many elements and addressing all of those is an incredibly collaborative effort. Having something different to do every day kept things fun. My favorite aspect of my term was the technical activities such as chemical monitoring and creating GIS maps. These projects challenged me intellectually and provided me with new skills. I am very grateful for everyone that made my term so educational. After AmeriCorps, I am moving to Pittsburgh to further work in the environmental field.
Emily Lachman : Learning to successfully map infrastructure and identifying erosion, trash debris, and inadequate buffers during stream surveys, I gained a set of skills that I wouldn’t have imagined otherwise. One of the projects we assisted with that I enjoyed was Knox County’s Environmental Stewardship Program. It was awesome helping design grass swales, rain gardens, and other green infrastructure to combat drainage issues throughout the community. I learned about the aspects of drainage design such as how to take measurements, communicate with homeowners, and the inspection process. However, my favorite part of this past year was getting to know the amazing staff at Knox County Stormwater. Their great humor and positive attitudes truly made this year all that it was. After AmeriCorps I will be moving to Charlottesville, VA to obtain my Masters in Teaching to teach HS Biology. Thanks for a good year Knox County Stormwater!

The Knox County Stormwater AmeriCorps Team (KCSAT) worked hard throughout their term and the numbers that show the accomplishments are impressive. A few of the stats are listed here.

Detention ponds surveyed: 389
Stream miles walked: 112
Number of streams surveyed: 10
Water samples collected: 60
Adopt-a-Stream Cleanup Events: 14
Enviroscape^TM lessons (individual lessons): 242
ESP (engineered designs) projects designed: 36
ESP (swales, rain gardens, etc.) projects completed: 18
Libraries visited to restock brochures: 7
Pollution Prevention Inspections at EPW Campus: 10
Historic Files Digitized: >1500
Geographic Information System (GIS) projects completed: 7
Volunteers Engaged: 121
SWAT Educational Videos Created: 5
Students/people educated: 3,758