NKU plans to create wetland in Latonia

Scott Wartman

COVINGTON - Staff from Northern Kentucky University has restored streams and wetlands all over Northern Kentucky and now hope to work on 30 acres along Banklick Creek in Latonia.

The university's Center for Applied Ecology awaits approval from the Army Corps of Engineers to create a wetland and preserve along Banklick Creek on city-owned property near the Bill Cappel Youth Sports Complex. They will also remove invasive species, such as honeysuckle.

If NKU gets approval from the corps, the city would grant the university a conservation easement on the property to ensure no other development can alter the landscape, Fennell said.

The land is currently unused woods by the sports complex on 43rd Street.

The university would create a wetland along the creek to hold more storm water and improve the quality of the water runoff, said Scott Fennell, program director for the Northern Kentucky Stream and Wetland Restoration Program at NKU.

NKU would disconnect catch basins and allow water to flow in an open channel, creating a swamp in parts of the woods.

"Wetlands are a natural filter," Fennell said. "They filter pollutants and destroy pollutants. The water leaving will be cleaner. Microorganisms in the soil actually consume pollutants. When they talk of the oil spill in the Gulf, microorganisms will play a factor in consuming the petroleum."

NKU staff would also remove honeysuckle, which chokes out native species, Fennell said.

The project has been several years in the making, said Commissioner Sherry Carran.

Banklick Creek has suffered from flooding and sediment issues that reduce water quality, said Carran, who also serves on the Kenton Conservancy and chairs the Banklick Watershed Council. While this wetland wouldn't reduce flooding in Pioneer Park in Covington along Banklick Creek, it would reduce the amount of silt clogging this waterway, she said.

The creek is listed as an impaired waterway by the Kentucky Division of Water for sediment, according to a 2008 report by the state.

The city also has plans to create nature trails on the property and informational signs about the habitat, Carran said. She hopes an increased public presence will reduce the illegal ATV use on the property.

"It is a great place to access the Banklick Creek," Carran said. "I don't think a lot of people know about it. Now that people know about it, it can be a great bird-watching spot. We want to cut down on the abuse of the property. There is a lot of abuse with ATVs."

The wetland restoration projects are funded through fees developers pay when they impact a stream. The Clean Water Act requires builders to offset the damage to the streams, Fennell said. The Army Corps of Engineers oversees this fund and approves the projects. NKU hopes to have the project approved in six months after it completes its proposal, Fennell said.

NKU's Center for Applied Ecology has completed 17 projects for the Northern Kentucky Stream and Wetland Restoration Project since 1999. They used $783,000 in 2009 to restore a stream in Tower Park in Fort Thomas.

"We are improving and restoring water quality," Fennell said. "We are preserving areas with natural beauty and improving floodwater storage"

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Source: http://nky.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20100608/NEWS0103/6090349/

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