A watershed is an area of land where all of the rainwater that falls drains to the same place.
The East Hickman Creek watershed is twenty square miles, almost all located in southeast Fayette County. East Hickman flows into Hickman Creek. The watershed straddles the southeast edge of the urban service area and includes a mix of urban and agricultural uses. Residential land uses are the most abundant in the urban section of the watershed.
The Jacobson reservoir, Lexington Reservoir No. 4, is formed from 11,000 feet of East Hickman Creek. Most of the pollution in this watershed is due to fecal coliform and nutrients, which can be caused by livestock and runoff from yards that includes pet waste and fertilizer.
Watershed resources
Watershed monitoring in East Hickman
Watershed monitoring is an important tool to improve Lexington's water quality. Lexington recently finished a multi-year project to take water quality tests at different stream locations to help determine what pollutants to focus on to improve water quality. Each watershed has its own health report card.
|
E. coli (Primary Contact Recreation) |
Sewage, animal waste, livestock manure | Poor |
|
E. coli (Secondary Contact Recreation) |
Sewage, animal waste, livestock manure |
Fair |
|
Total Suspended Solids |
Upland or channel soil erosion; muddy water |
Very good |
|
Temperature |
Runoff of excessive parking lot or roadway heat; lack of riparian canopy |
Very good |
|
Dissolved Oxygen |
Respiration potential for fish and other organisms |
Very good |
|
pH |
Acidity or alkalinity: neutral levels needed |
Very good |
|
Conductivity |
Dissolved solids, various salts, organic matter |
Very poor |
|
Chlorine |
Water line break, swimming pool discharge |
Very good |
|
Detergents |
Sewage or graywater | Very good |
|
Ammonia-Nitrogen |
Sewage, animal waste, livestock manure |
Very good |
|
Nitrate-Nitrogen |
Excess fertilizer/manure runoff; promotes algae growth |
Fair |
|
Total Phosphorus |
Excess fertilizer/manure runoff; promotes algae growth |
Very good |
|
Headwater Stream Habitat |
Places where fish and other organisms can live |
Poor |
|
Wadeable Stream Habitat |
Places where fish and other organisms can live |
Poor |
|
Headwater Aquatic Bugs / Critters |
Conditions that support fish and other aquatic life |
Poor |
|
Wadeable Aquatic Bugs / Critters |
Conditions that support fish and other aquatic life | Fair |
East Hickman sanitary sewer projects
- East Hickman Force Main
- East Hickman Pump Station
- East Hickman Equalization Basin
- Overbrook Farm Force Main
- Overbrook Farm Pump Station
- Overbrook Farm Trunk
- Delong Road Pump Station and Force Main
- Armstrong Mill Road Trunk
- Hartland 2 and 3 Trunks
- Hartland 1 Trunk
- Eliminate East Lake Pump Station
- Century Hills Trunk
- East Lake Trunk
- Autumn Ridge Trunk