City Council Chairman Yusuf Hakeem praises Citico Creek mitigation project at a press conference at Carver Recreation Center. From left are Doug Fritz of city stormwater, Mayor Bob Corker, Mark VanLoh, airport president; City Councilman Ron Littlefield, Niels Vernegaard, Parkridge Hospital president, and Mike Landgruth, airport vice president.
photo by John Wilson
An unusual partnership of Parkridge Hospital and the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport Authority are giving new life to Citico Creek, Mayor Bob Corker said Friday morning.
The mayor said both Parkridge and the airport had been in need of mitigation projects to compensate for water quality impacts from planned development activities.
Through the help of city stormwater, the two agreed to combine on a project that will free Citico Creek from a concrete ditch for 3,300 feet near the Carver Recreation Center.
Doug Fritz, of city stormwater, said he had often seen fish die in the creek, but he said they should be able to thrive in a natural stream.
Workmen are due to start next week tearing out the concrete bed. Miles of creeks in Chattanooga were ditched in the 1930s by Works Progress Administration crews.
Officials said some older residents still remember when the creek ran free and said they often swam in it then. They said with the renewed creek they hoped "you can once again swim in it and catch turtles."
Signs are now posted along Citico Creek warning that the water may be contaminated. Officials said they could not guarantee that those signs will come down - even after the creek restoration.
The Tennessee-American Water Company gets its water from intakes where Citico Creek enters the Tennessee River.
A section of the Riverpark is also near where Citico Creek enters the river.
Mayor Corker called the project "a great example of public and private partnerships for the betterment of the community."
He called it "an important step in the overall cleanup of Citico Creek."
The mayor said the city and state will continue to monitor the creek to try to eliminate illegal discharges.
He asked for help from the community in identifying polluters.
The section of stream where the concrete is being removed comes off Missionary Ridge.
Officials said U.S. Congressman Zach Wamp was instrumental in acquiring federal funding for the project through discretionary funding.
SEI Environmental of Knoxville is doing the work on a contract of $182,952.