What is a Watershed:

Greg Baker • November 9, 2017

and why does it matter?

A watershed is an area of land that drains all of the streams and rainfall to a common outlet such as the outflow of a reservoir, mouth of a bay, or any point along a stream channel [1]. Watersheds are more than just drainage areas in our communities. According to the EPA, more than $450 billion worth of food, fiber, manufactured goods and tourism depend on a healthy Watershed. They sustain our lives in more than one way. Man-made watersheds have been around for many years and the reason that they were created is because of the need for clean and reliable water within the communities. In 2006, two University of Kentucky students drowned and passed away and ever since we have been working to reduce flooding by the use of watersheds

Watersheds work by moving standing and flood water to streams and other areas and sends some underground to reduce the flooding in communities. Watersheds affect us by giving us clean resources and allowing us to move about without worry of any other traumas such as the one in 2006. The state of Kentucky has 9 main river basins into which all watersheds feed.

There are a few things that you can do to help maintain our watersheds: Don’t pour toxic household chemicals down drains, conserve water everyday, do not over apply fertilizers, plant hardy plants that don’t require a lot of fertilizers, and don’t pour any hazardous waste into the storm drains. Some may ask, “What is Tobacco Rose doing to help maintain our watersheds?” Ever since the two deaths in 2006, we have been working close with large companies to protect our watersheds.

1. https://water.usgs.gov/edu/watershed.html

Snow Removal

By Erin McQueen • January 9, 2022
This past week, our team was hard at work helping our clients remove snow and salting the sidewalks and roads. Our teams were up early in the morning to ensure the safety of our clients. Why use salt? Salt lowers the temperature that water freezes at which can help with slick spots on the roads and sidewalks. Salt can be used before or after the snow and ice. We can help provide those services including the removal of snow. Removal of snow can provide easier and safer traveling methods. When the next big snow storm hits, don't worry about being stuck inside or not being able to get your employees into work. Call us today to plan ahead. Then you won't have to worry about snow when it happens, we have your back!

Fall Fertilization

By Erin McQueen • October 4, 2021
Now that it officially fall time, it's time to start fertilizing your lawn! We all want our plants and grounds to be looking the best possible, and to accomplish this, you must fertilize to strengthen their roots. There are different fertilizers, including lawn, plant, bulb, tree, and shrub. These fertilizers focus specifically on the best process for what you need. By using lawn fertilizer, you also ensure that your lawn will turn green more quickly after the harmful winter's frost. Plant fertilizer will make more vigorous plants, while bulbs will increase root growth. Tree and shrub fertilizer is crucial since we rake leaves which takes away their nutrients to have more nitrogen to help them grow. Overall, to have the best-looking lawn on your street, you need to fertilize and have the necessary roots for your yard to shine!

It's Silt Fence Not Silk Fence

By Greg Baker • November 21, 2017
 A common misconception is silt fence being pronounced silk fence. The definition of silt is fine sand, clay or other materials carried off by running water and deposited as sediment. The purpose of silt fence is to block sediment from our water sources and only allowing the water to run through the fence while still trapping the silt. Silt fence is one of the numerous services we offer to developers and home builders to keep our water clean from any harmful materials. A common error we see with silt fence installation is not digging out deep enough to trap that sediment which can cause major issues in our storm water runoff. One thing Tobacco Rose does to help with this is by replacing any silt fence that has been damaged and we make sure to train our men on the way we want our silt fence to be installed.