WATERS of Jefferson County, KY Watershed Approach to Environmentally Responsible Stewardship

The Louisville and Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) is responsible for storm water and wastewater within the City of Louisville and Jefferson County. PDR Engineers, Inc., A Tetra Tech Company, assisted MSD to produce the Watershed Approach to Environmentally Responsible Stewardship (WATERS) of Jefferson County report. The purpose of the report was to illustrate MSD's commitment to improving water quality by reporting on activities involving the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4), the Combined Sewer Operational Plan (CSOP), and the Sanitary Sewer Overflow Abatement and Elimination Plan (SSOAEP). In the past, MSD submitted summaries of the MS4, CSOP, and SSOAEP programs as separate reports. The WATERS of Jefferson County report combines these three reports into a unified and integrated submittal. The unique nature of the WATERS report allows the reader to view information from a programmatic and watershed approach. In the watershed sections, the reader can obtain information on each of the eleven watersheds in Jefferson County since water quality data and the activities of the three separate programs is presented in watershed sections. Watershed reporting is another step MSD is taking towards managing water quantity and water quality through a holistic watershed approach. Future endeavors may include actually combining the permits and/or reporting requirements for the MS4, CSOP, and SSOAEP.