LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Beargrass Creek weaves its way through Louisville.
From outstretching parts of Jefferson County to your favorite Olmsted parks, the watershed covers 60-square-miles of the River City.
It brings out birds, fish, and people like Robert Camfield.
"I love to fish," Camfield said. "But I don't know that I would want to fish here."
The 95-year-old sits in a lawn chair, at the spot where the Beargrass Creek meets the Ohio River. He visits five times a week with his grandson Rob Tabor and their three dogs.
"It's a gamble," Tabor said. "With the water, [the dogs] drinking it. it's not necessarily the cleanest."
Soon, that could change.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Lt. Gen. Scott A. Spellmon, USACE Commanding General and 55th U.S. Army Chief of Engineers, signed the Chief’s Report for the Three Forks of Beargrass Creek Ecosystem Restoration Feasibility Study, Tuesday, May 24.
Basically, MSD and The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers studied the watershed for two years, looking for ways to improve it. This month, they checked a final box by getting the chief to sign off. Now, they are waiting on congressional approval.
The study provides recommendations for aquatic ecosystem restoration of 620 acres and 8.8-miles of stream, wetland creation, barrier removals, and floodplain access.
The project comes with a price tag of $121 million.
"Oh boy," Camfield said.
After 95 years of seeing the creek get swallowed up by muck and new development. A cleaner stream? He said, "That'd be hard to believe."
Time will tell.
► Contact reporter Tom Lally at TLally@whas11.com or on Facebook or Twitter.
►Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.
RELATED VIDEO