The Middle Nolichucky Watershed Alliance made final plans Thursday for a "Growth Readiness" workshop it will host Wednesday, Aug. 23, at the General Morgan Inn.

The focus of the workshop is to help municipalities begin thinking about ways to prepare for growth, looking ahead to 2025, said Dana Ball, president of the MNWA and also an employee of the Tennessee Valley Authority.

She said municipal leaders will hear presentations to help them evaluate whether their communities have ordinances in place to deal with growth, especially as growth affects roads, land use and stormwater runoff.

Greeneville Alderman Sarah Webster, a member of the MNWA board, said the goal is to come out of the workshop "with a plan that everybody can be working on."

Greeneville Environmentalist Debbie Smith said about 50 people representing Greene County and its four municipalities have confirmed that they will attend.

For more information, contact Smith at Greeneville Town Hall, 639-7105.

Trip On River Planned

The Alliance board also set Sept. 8 as the tentative date for its annual float trip on the Nolichucky River.

Ball said the boats from the former Cedar Creek Learning Center will not be available, but boats from several other sources are available. There was discussion about whether to go ahead with the event.

Ball said that decision depends largely on how much interest is shown in the next few weeks.

The public is invited, but those attending need to be able to paddle a canoe and must sign a liability waiver.

Stream-Bank Repairs

Paul Hayden of the Greene County Soil Conservation District reported on two stream-bank repair projects. He said the Jancie Painter project on the Warrensburg Road is nearing completion.

Fencing to keep cattle out of the creek is involved there, he said.

Another project is just starting on Little Chuckey Creek, on the Joe Duckett property. Hayden said this project is being done in partnership with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, and the landowner.

He said about $20,000 in federal funds is to be used to clean up "a huge mess" where goats and other livestock are being watered directly from the creek.

"The before-and-after pictures will be startling," he said.

Hayden also reported on progress on College Creek, which flows through the Tusculum College campus on its way to the Nolichucky River.

Hayden reported that "half a dozen landowners" attended an informational meeting July 25 about plans to have college students survey the creek.

On Aug. 8, he said, letters were sent to 48 landowners, and as of Thursday, 11 replies had been received.

Hayden said efforts to contact landowners will continue, because on Sept. 14, the student survey is planned.

Survey Procedure Outlined

Students will be trained to gather data that will be used to write a watershed improvement plan for College Creek.

He noted that Sept. 14 is Nettie Fowler McCormick Service Day, when the entire college spends the day on community service projects.

He said plans call for dividing 80 students into eight or nine groups to do creek surveying, with a technical person (from TVA, the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, or the Soil Conservation District) assigned to each group as an advisor.

Students will be taking pictures of the creek bank and using a Global Positioning System (GPS) device to locate each photo.

Hayden said he happened to be present on the campus recently when a large downpour occurred. He said he witnessed water coming from a 30-inch culvert at such a strong rate that the water was "shooting five or six feet into the air" when it splashed onto rocks below the culvert.

"The college has a serious problem with runoff" at the rear of the new building, Hayden said.

Hayden said he spoke to Tusculum's facilities manager about this, and confirmed that the college "knows it's a problem" and is interested in working with the Watershed Alliance and the Soil Conservation District to address the situation.

Fortunately, Hayden said, the water "comes out on top of the ground," and is not channeled directly into the creek.

The board voted to contribute $600 toward the cost of the Conservation Field Day at Davy Crockett Birthplace State Park, Aug. 28-30.

Ball said the Alliance's contribution was $850 last year, but there is less need this year.