Hancock Creek Watershed
Kentucky Waterways Alliance (KWA) was awarded a Clean Water Act Section 319(h) grant through the Kentucky Division of Water in 2004 to develop a Watershed Planning Guidebook for Kentucky to use to develop watershed plans in four small watersheds, including Hancock Creek. The feedback generated during this planning process will be used to finalize the development of the Guidebook.
The Hancock Creek Watershed is a 12.96 square mile (8295 acres) area located in the Strodes Creek watershed in Clark County, Kentucky. Most of the watershed is in pasture/hay (79 percent), with approximately 6 percent in cultivated crops, and 9 percent is developed. The rest is in forest, grasslands, and wetlands. The developed portions of the watershed are located adjacent to I-64 and US-60. These areas include several subdivisions and some commercial development.
A “Watershed-Planning Team” will be assembled for Hancock Creek. The watershed planning team will meet on a regular basis for one to two years to assemble watershed information, review drafts of the watershed plan and select Best Management Practices (BMPs) or other management measures to improve water quality. The team will be led by a facilitator, project manager, and technical assistant. Members of the public are urged to join the Watershed Planning Team. Currently the Watershed Planning Team for Hancock Creek is largely made up of members of the Strodes Creek Conservancy.
The planning process includes holding two Community Watershed Roundtables to solicit community feedback, build support for the planning process and invite other stakeholders in the watershed to participate. The first took place on March 18, 2008 at the Clark County Cooperative Extension Service in Winchester. See below for presentations and a report from the event. The other Roundtable will be scheduled after the draft plan has been written (around spring 2009).
For more information on the Hancock Creek Watershed-based Planning Project, or to join the Watershed Planning Team, please contact Shanda Cecil, Plan Facilitator and Director of the Strodes Creek Conservancy, at strodescreek@adelphia.net or Tessa Edelen, Project Manager.
Visit our Upcoming Events for a list of upcoming meetings.
Hancock Creek in the News
November 2007 article on project from The Winchester Sun (PDF 50KB)
February 2008 article on Hancock Creek Roundtable from The Winchester Sun (PDF 51KB)
Documents
Hancock Creek Final Watershed Plan (June 2010)
Hancock Creek Watershed Roundtable Report (PDF 514KB)
Hancock Creek Watershed Planning Project Brochure (PDF 168KB)
Hancock Creek Work Plan (draft) (PDF 189KB)
Introduction to Draft Watershed Planning Guidebook PowerPoint Presentation (PDF 457KB)
Hancock Creek Watershed Roundtable Presentations:
Watershed Planning and How You Can Protect the Watershed (PDF 784KB)
Background on the Hancock Creek Watershed and Strodes Creek Conservancy Projects (PDF 1.7MB)
Overview of Water Quality in Hancock Creek (PDF 1.2MB)