Basin Overview      Ranked Watersheds List      

The Salt River Basin and Minor Ohio River Tributaries drain about 4,150 square miles of north-central Kentucky. In addition, there are nearly 9,375 miles of streams in the watershed as indicated on the 1:24,000 scale topographic maps of the area. The watershed is bounded on the north and west by the Ohio River, on the east by the drainage divide with the Kentucky River Basin, on the south by the drainage divide with the Green and Tradewater Basin. The general topography ranges from nearly flat along alluvial plains to gently rolling pastures to hilly, steeply sloping hillsides in upland areas. The elevation of land surface ranges from slightly less than 400 feet to more than 1,200 feet above mean sea level. The 18 counties that comprise the watershed include Anderson, Boyle, Breckenridge, Bullitt, Carroll, Casey, Hardin, Henry, Larue, Marion, Meade, Mercer, Nelson, Oldham, Shelby, Spencer, Trimble and Washington. Data from the U. S. Census Bureau indicate that six counties in the Basin had the largest percent of population increase during 1990-1999. These counties and their rankings compared to the 120 total counties in Kentucky are Spencer County (1 out of 120), Oldham County (4 out of 120), Trimble County (7 out of 120), Anderson County (8 out of 120), Bullitt County (9 out of 120) and Nelson County (10 out of 120). Major population centers in the watershed include Louisville and Jefferson County, Ft. Knox, LaGrange, Shelbyville and many other smaller communities.

Issues of concern in the Salt River Basin and communities in the basin include population density and projected growth, sanitation and sewage treatment plants (both regional and local package treatment plants), urban sprawl and loss of agricultural farmland to residential development, water quality in regional and community lakes and streams, septic systems in nonsewered areas, urban runoff, flooding, landfills including Superfund sites, loss of wetlands, protected lands and natural habitat. Special concerns include protecting resources such as Taylorsville Lake, Otter Creek Park, Bernheim Forest, Tom Sawyer State Park and other specially designated areas such as along U. S. Highway 42 and River Road (in Jefferson and Oldham counties) recently designated as a Kentucky Scenic By-Way. Economic issues include tourism and recreation associated with the major horse farms.