Kentucky Watershed Watch

10/15/2026

10/14/2026

We’re excited to be hosting our first ever statewide meeting in Berea this morning and to be attending the Kentucky Watershed Network Summit!

💧We are so excited to welcome everyone today to the KWA Kentucky Watershed Network Summit: What's in Your Water?💧Check-in begins following the Kentucky Watershed Watch annual meeting. We have an amazing lineup of speakers, a fantastic agenda, and so many wonderful opportunities to learn, connect, and collaborate as we protect, restore, and celebrate Kentucky’s waterways. It’s going to be an incredible couple of days!

10/12/2026

Today, October 12th, is the LAST day to register online for the KWA Kentucky Watershed Network Summit: What's in Your Water? Make sure to secure your spot by registering today! The Summit is this week, October 14-15th. We can’t wait to see everyone in Berea!

10/12/2026

09/30/2026

🚨 Action Alert: KWA is alarmed that the E.P.A. and the Army Corps of Engineers are proposing another major change to Waters of the United States (WOTUS) that could reduce the number of streams and wetlands protected by the Clean Water Act. If adopted, many Kentucky waterways that currently receive protection would no longer qualify.
📣What you can do: The National Wildlife Federation has created an easy Action Alert you can use to submit a comment to the E.P.A.
🔗That link and all the details are in comments.
😡What the E.P.A. is Considering:
🚨Streams: Limits “relatively permanent” waters to essentially only perennial/continuously flowing streams. E.P.A. acknowledges most intermittent streams would not meet this standard.
🚨Wetlands: Requires a continuous surface water connection between a wetland and another jurisdictional water. E.P.A. expects the majority of current wetlands to fail this test.
🚨30-day bright line: Only allows a stream to go dry or a wetland to become disconnected once during the year for up to no more than 30 days due to to normal, predictable causes.
💦Why this Matters in Kentucky: Our headwaters, intermittent streams, wetlands, springs, and karst groundwater systems function together. Water does not stop moving through a watershed simply because surface flow temporarily stops. Kentucky cannot easily replace lost federal protections because state law now ties much or Kentucky's water jurisdiction to the federal WOTUS definition. When federal protection shrinks, Kentucky’s protection can shrink with it.

09/24/2026

There are still a few days left to participate in September Sampling! Kentucky Watershed Watch volunteer, Gerty Aldcroft, sampled today at Cave Fork in Lee County 💧. Where are you sampling this September? Be sure to tag us in your photos - we love to see our volunteers in action!

09/23/2026

Don't forget to register for the 8th Annual Voyageur Boat Outings on October 3rd and 4th at 1:00pm! This year's event will be celebrating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and we will also be hoping to see fall colors on the river. Please register by 10/8, but sooner is better.

Registration can be found here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc9mPVrEA8KYB3gkNpN7Lru988geFkE6_zEh1LWI2SKfKlRKg/viewform

09/15/2026

Have you signed up for the Kentucky Watershed Watch Statewide Meeting and the Kentucky Watershed Network Summit yet? Join us on October 14th at 8:30am for our first Kentucky Watershed Watch Statewide Meeting! This gathering is open to samplers, support hub contacts, river basin leaders, and anyone interested in Kentucky Watershed Watch. We’ll celebrate successes, build connections, learn about the latest KWW updates, and get to know fellow watershed advocates from across the state. We’ll also have opportunities to engage in organizational and community planning as we look ahead to the future of Kentucky Watershed Watch.
📆Wednesday, October 14th
⏰ 8:30-11:00am
📍 Berea College Forestry Outreach Center

Plan to stay after the meeting for the KWN Summit that will be happening October 14-15. This years summit theme is 'What's in your water?' There is a hotel room block available at Boone Tavern for the summit. This block ends THIS Friday 9/18! Lodging is also available at HomeGrown HideAways with a discounted rate available for summit attendees!

Register for the KWW Statewide Meeting: https://forms.gle/VZWEBo936TuT3mei7
Register for the Kentucky Watershed Network Summit:
https://www.kwalliance.org/kentucky-watershed-network-summit.html

09/09/2026

Don't miss your last two chances to become a Kentucky Watershed Watch Sampler in 2026! We have two introductory trainings happening THIS Saturday 9/12 at the following locations:

- Harlan at the LiKEN Office from 10:00am to 12:00pm
- Lexington during the Hellbender Festival at Kelley's Landing from 10:00am to 1:00pm

Registration is required and can be completed here: https://forms.gle/hMofcUbuL8AGA6nSA
Before attending the online training session, participants must complete Online Training Modules 1–5, which can be found here: https://www.kywater.org/training/general-training