Restoring the Red Bird River

Restoring the Red Bird River!  by Laura Gregory
In late 2023 KWA began managing the Red Bird River Septic & Education Project. This project was previously run by the U.S. Forest Service and Daniel Boone National Forest, as part of a watershed plan completed in 2016 by Kentucky Waterways Alliance, with the help of many community partners and stakeholders. This funding will allow KWA to employ a local Red Bird River Watershed Coordinator whose responsibilities will include overseeing the repair or replacement of 13 septic systems and providing educational opportunities for residents of the counties. 
The Red Bird River, named for Cherokee Chief Red Bird, rises as Red Bird Creek in northeastern Bell County, becoming the Red Bird River in Clay County, forming the boundary between Clay and Leslie counties. Eventually the Redbird comes to a confluence with Goose Creek and Bullskin Creek to form the South Fork of the Kentucky River. The Redbird is 34.3 miles long and drains an area of 195.7 square miles.
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The geography of the Red Bird River Watershed (RBRW) adds to the beauty of the area, but also contributes to the current water quality issues. The RBRW is remote; the landscape consists of steep slopes and narrow valley bottoms.  Many of the residents have settled close to waterways because floodplains offer most of the flat areas conducive to home construction. Research shows the lack of municipal sewers and absent or failing onsite wastewater disposal systems contribute to poor water quality issues, resulting in a higher incidence of stomach illnesses and dental problems for the people who rely on this water.

For years the entire Red Bird River has been listed as an impaired waterway because it has too much fecal coliform. After years of implementing KWA’s watershed plan through education, outreach and septic system improvements, new water quality data led the Kentucky Division of Water to propose delisting a 15-mile segment of Red Bird River for primary contact recreation due to reduced e. Coli impairments in 2022. This is good news for people who want to use the river for recreation, as well as for three species that live in the Red Bird River watershed that are considered at risk under the Endangered Species Act: the threatened Kentucky Arrow Darter and endangered Snuffbox (a freshwater mussel) and Gray Bat.

KWA is excited to continue working with our community partners with the hope that eventually the entire Red Bird River will be fully restored to water that is drinkable, swimmable, and fishable.