Beaver Creek extends 44 miles from a handful of bubbling springs in Gibbs through Halls, Powell and Karns to Melton Hill Lake in Hardin Valley. Mayor Glenn Jacobs has named it the Knox County Water Trail, established a website and committed some $1.2 million for cleanup.
Jacobs is all in, as is District 7 commissioner Charlie Busler. But at-large commissioner Larsen Jay is the guy who wakes up every day thinking about the creek.
Jay spoke this week at the business group PBPA. Read his presentation here: PBPA-Presentation. Jay cited three reasons to clean and care for Beaver Creek: flood control, water quality and recreation.
Beaver Creek drains 86.5 square miles of north Knox County and “the drain is clogged,” said Jay. Crews from Knox County Parks & Rec floated the creek from Clayton Park in Halls to Melton Hill. They found 166 jams with 35 level 5 jams. “In the last year, we’ve removed over 300 tons of debris,” Jay said. “Level 5 jams are as big as a house and require heavy equipment to remove them.”
Flotilla
The 2022 Flotilla has been scheduled for Saturday, May 14, starting at the public launch behind Powell High School. It will be coordinated by the volunteers of the Beaver Creek Kayak Club and separated from the Powell Station Celebration and Travis Wegener Memorial Car Show.
This year there will be two take-outs: one at Clinton Highway near the new Weigel’s, and the other at the Roy Arthur Stormwater Park on Harrell Road.
Jay said the creek will be cleared to that point by May and he’s is hoping to get a floating dock installed. Parks & Rec has identified 11 spots for public put-ins, and only three are on private property. Volunteers are needed for quarterly cleanups of the creek after tree jams have been removed.
(Note: Jay is a candidate for re-election this year and I have contributed to his campaign.)