Dam information https://nid.sec.usace.army.mil/#/dams/system/KY01010/structure

Banklick Creek FRS No 3 (Flood Retardant Structures)

First Day Of Fishing https://facesandplaces.kentonlibrary.org/viewimage.php?i=di63955

Dropping Sanitation Line

https://mywaterway.epa.gov/waterbody-report/21KY/KY-2694/2022

2022 303d list

A Clean Water Act Section 303(d) listed impaired water is a waterbody that is impaired or threatened and needs a TMDL restoration plan.

History of SD1 https://www.sd1.org/186/Our-Proud-History

On September 5, 1945, in response to odor concerns at Banklick Creek, Dr. H. Clay White, a Kenton County health officer, recommended the establishment of a sanitation district in Northern Kentucky.

On July 1, 1995, 28 cities in Northern Kentucky turned over ownership of their sanitary sewer systems to the District. That December, Boone County officially merged with SD1. The cities of Independence and Alexandria followed suit, and as a result, SD1 became responsible for the collection and treatment of virtually all Northern Kentucky wastewater, serving 33 communities in Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties, with the exception of the cities of Florence and Walton (though SD1 does accept and treat wastewater from Florence).

The Army Corp of Engineers calls the enormous structure behind me, the Banklick Creek Flood Retardant Structure No 3, most locals call it the Doe Run Lake dam. As we examine the Dam, we will find that it is 112 feet tall and 950 feet across . It creates the Doe Run Lake which has a surface area of 50.7 acres. The lake is fed by two creeks. Looking from the dam, the one to the left is Doe Run Creek and the one coming in on the right is Bullock Pen Creek. The water leaving the dam quickly merges into the Banklick Creek at the bottom of the hill.

The Crest Elevation is 617.5’, with an Emergency Crest Elevation of 640.0 and the top of the dam is at an elevation of 658.9’.

The dam structure was designed by the USDA in 1975 and dedicated in 1982… with much fan fair, I might add, as seen in these photos found in the archive of the Kenton County Library. On the first day that the public was allowed to fish, close to 100 fishermen were captured in this photo, taken by a Kentucky Post photographer, as the early morning mist pulled back the current on the lake. This abandoned electrical pole standing along side the boat ramp is a reminder of two entrepreneurs who sought and gained permission to open a bait shop and canoe rental on the lake.

Since that time this lake has been quietly and faithful serving three functions for the surrounding communities.

The first function is recreation. The lake is still fished, however in the evenings there are more cars on top of the dam using the surrounding trail systems than those in the lower parking lot who are fishing. There is a 3 to 3.5 mile trail system that circles the lake. And many use the gravel road to the right of the dam to exercise their dogs.

The second and primary function, we have already mentioned, is stand ready to serve as a flood retardant structure. It is designed to hold back water during storms and… in the case of extreme weather it is designed to channel water across the soccer field and down the spillway to the creek bed below.

The third function is a role within the ecosystem that is unbeknownst to many.

Since the lake was built it has been dealing with upstream CSOs and SSOs which we will discuss later in this episode.

But first…. let’s start at the dam…. and take a virtual tour up Bullock Pen Creek.

Lakes, established for flood control, are strategically placed where it will capture storm water…from the upstream communities and hold it back in an attempt to protect downstream communities. This part makes sense… you put the dam where you know the water is going to flow.

What many do not know, is, since our sanitation system are primary… gravity fed, the sewer lines must also follow the same natural route as our ground water and storm systems. Which means the sanitation lines are in the creek bottoms of the two creeks, I just named. They leave the creek bed where the head waters of the dam start… and are buried in the banks to the left and right of the dam….they then continue over the hill to the processing plant below.

This system works, until it doesn’t.

The 617.5’ crest elevation mark is important to remember because it establishes a benchmark for the installation of sewer lines running down the beds of the two feeder creeks, If you were laying pipe, you need to stay above this 617.5’ elevation if you do not want backwaters routinely covering your manholes.  

Burying the lines, staying in the creek bed or adjacent to the creek, staying above this elevation while maintaining the slope required for gravity fed line to properly flow can become an engineering nightmare. This is one of many challenges facing SD1, the local sanitation department.   

SD1 was established in 1946, after the Kenton County health officer, Dr. H. Clay White, made notes about odors coming from Banklick Creek. Believe it or not, Banklick Creek is still listed as impaired by the EPA as is the lake.  

As we travel across the lake and up Bullock Pen Creek, I want you to notice the width of the creek bed up and through what I call the “S” Curve. This widen creek bed is an indication of flash flooding. As we go through the S Curve we will see two points were the Sanitation lines cross the creek. If you have sanitation lines, you have manholes. If you have flash flooding in an area with sanitation manholes, you will have unrecorded CSOs.

If we pull back from the creek to an overhead shot of the area, we will be four runoffs coming from the hilltop communities that have elevations up to 200’ above the creek bed.  

Next stop is the Narrows Pumping Station. Notice how the creek bed begins to look more like a traditional creek bed. The Narrows station has some storage capacity. However, it’s main function is to divert, when needed, sanitation up the hill to the Industrial Road and over a watershed divide to a gravity fed system that flows to a processing station west of here. For the most part, pumping stations are pretty reliable. Emergency power systems are being added to each of the pumping station. However, when they do fail, SSOs do occur if the storage capacity is superseded. 

We just came through a series of tunnels and passed the confluence of Rice Creek. As we finish out the trip, Take a look on top of the banks…you can see where recent construction has taken place. This is 2020 sanitation project called the Elsmere Corridor Project that installed 1.5 miles of sewer pipe ranging from 18 inches to 24 inches along Bullock Pen Creek and eliminated 2.9 million gallons of typical year SSOs

In the world of sanitation there are two types of overflows:  

When the overflow is a combination of Sewage and Stormwater it is called a CSO events

When the overflow is Sewage only, it is called a SSO events.

All overflows seek the lowest available elevation. Some actual reenter the sanitation system through another access point, some seep into the ground, and some enter the creek and are carried downstream. Those that make it to the creeks, will eventually make it to the lake. That’s when the lake performs it’s third undesigned and often overlooked function of collecting and dealing with upstream CSO and SSOs. 

It appears the lake made the EPA 303(d) list from a Kentucky assessment that was made on 3/24/2011. Once listed the EPA expects a TMDL or Total Maximum Daily Load report. A TMDL is a calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a waterbody can accept and still meet the state's Water Quality Standards for public health and healthy ecosystems.  

In Kentucky’s 2022 report to the EPA, they listed dealing with Doe Run Lake as a low priority. Even though there has several public and private CSO and SSO reports on the Bullock Pen Creek.

Now…Human waste is made up of about 75% water. However, it doesn’t just magically disappear in water; the process of decomposition is a bit more complicated than that. Bacteria, in the water, will consume the feces and release simpler molecules into the water. Lakes can successfully handle the introduction of some pollutants; they can also be pushed over the edge.