Volunteers lend helping hand in tire dump cleanup at Jennings Creek

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Over near Jennings Creek, a couple hundred tires were left in a parking lot, along with some tires tumbling into the stream.

It was noticed by a fisherman who frequents the creek, as well as WKU’s CHNGES, or the Center for Human GeoEnvironmental Studies, who has been observing the area for research.

CHNGES is a group that operates out of WKU’s EST building that allows students to engage in real world application to observe and solve environmental issues.

Jason Polk, director of the program, told News 40 that just he and students alone pulled around 30 tires out of the creek. It goes without saying that tires can cause a major hazard to waterways and can contribute to metal pollution or pollution of other substances.

Polk said CHNGES is currently working with other agencies and through a grant to set up a watershed program for Jennings Creek to better protect the area from incidents such as this.

Authorities are also involved trying to track down who may be responsible. In Kentucky, dumping anything into waterways is a felony.