LOJIC Disclaimer

Pond Creek Watershed

One of the largest watersheds in the MSD service area, the Pond Creek Watershed, stretches from Fern Creek (Bardstown Road) at the east to the Salt River and Southwest Jefferson County to the west. At the north is the industrial area that surrounds Louisville International Airport, and to the south its tributaries can be traced into new residential neighborhoods in Bullitt County.

Historically, much of the area was once a rural wetland for backwater from the Ohio River and, until the 1920s, little changed. The late 1920s brought channelization projects to the major tributaries, including Pond Creek. The widened and deepened channels dried out thousands of acres for farming. Flooding still occurred during wet weather, but losing crops was the only consequence.

The stakes went up dramatically after World War II with generally uncontrolled industrial, commercial and residential developments quickly taking the place of farmland. When the rains came, people lost homes, furniture and cars. In addition to the surface drainage problems, the vast majority of the area developed with package water quality treatment centers and septic tanks. By the 1980s, Pond Creek and its major tributaries were biologically dead, unable to support significant aquatic life.

Since the mid-1980s, more than 10,000 septic tanks and 21 package water quality treatment centers have been removed by new trunk sewers and collection systems. Citizens' groups, working with elected officials and MSD, began focusing on extending sanitary services, while working on flood-mitigation projects in the area.

In 1998, MSD, Jefferson County Government, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Representative Anne Northup and area neighborhood groups celebrated the beginning of the construction phase of the long-awaited Pond Creek Flood Prevention Project.

The project utilized large basins for flood storage and channel improvements to remove the estimated 2,000 buildings from the danger of most floods. In addition, the project incorporated Greenways principles that will provide pedestrian access to Pond Creek. Walking and biking paths help connect neighborhoods and introduce area residents to ever-improving water quality along Pond Creek.

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