Knox County Tennessee

Education & Public Participation

  • Knox County has developed robust education, outreach, and participation programs to educate and involve members of the public in improving our local waters through improved stormwater practices. Knox County’s Public Information and Education (PIE) Plan is a requirement of the State of Tennessee NPDES General Permit for Discharges from Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4). The PIE Plan describes our strategy for implementing activities that are most likely to have significant positive stormwater impacts with general public audiences.
  • You can view the 2024 PIE Plan here.

Programs and Opportunities

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In The World Of Stormwater….

We encourage homeowners, businesses, developers and anyone who is affected by

Stormwater (that is all of us!) to either Infiltrate & Evapotranspire OR Harvest & Re-Use their stormwater in order to reduce flooding and improve water quality in our community. 

Infiltrate & Evapotranspire with Rain Gardens

Rain gardens are an aesthetically pleasing, functional way to improve drainage on your property. Rain gardens slow down stormwater while filtering out pollutants.  The video below was developed by Powell Middle School students in 2012 to educate the public about rain gardens. Learn more about Rain Gardens

Harvest & Reuse with Rain Barrels and Cisterns

Cisterns and rain barrels are an age-old method for collecting and reusing FREE water from the sky. Cisterns & rain barrels can help alleviate minor drainage issues, reduce the amount of potentially polluted stormwater runoff into our creeks and local water bodies, and save you money on outdoor water usage.

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