Stream Monitoring
Visual Stream Assessments
Beginning summer of 2018 and continuing through summer of 2019, Stormwater Department personnel will be walking the streams of Kingsport for the entire length that is within the city limits. This is required by TDEC (Tennessee Dept. of Environment and Conservation) as part of the city’s Stormwater Permit. The purpose of the “streamwalk” is to document the locations of human impacts on the streams. The Visual Stream Assessment will document outfalls, pipes, illegal dumping, fish barriers, lack of riparian buffer, erosion, channelization, and construction. Future public education efforts will focus on noted areas of concern.
Local Stream Studies
In 2017, the Stormwater Department began sampling Clark Branch and Tranbarger Branch, as part of a study to gather more data on the health of these two streams. Both streams are listed by the U.S. EPA as having high E. coli levels and excess siltation. Siltation affects the ability of aquatic insects and fish to live in the creek, and E. coli affects human health. Water samples are being tested for bacteria, and aquatic insect larvae are being collected and identified.
The Stormwater Dept. also samples all streams within the City of Kingsport at least once every 5 years, according to state regulations.
