Shelby Bottoms

Shelby Bottoms. Keeping Our Waters Clean. The water in front of you traveled a great distance. Most recently, it navigated the Middle Cumberland Watershed, a network of creeks and streams that crosses 54 counties across Kentucky and Tennessee. In urban watersheds like ours, rainwater rushes off buildings and roads often accumulating sediment, litter, and other pollutants before draining into the Cumberland River and eventually, the Gulf of Mexico. The low-lying "bottomland" of Shelby Bottoms helps keep the river clean. Plants along its many waterways act as a sponge to filter storm runoff and prevent soil erosion. They also help rainwater enter groundwater reserves. , The water's force is strongest along the outside bend. This causes the river to widen as the bank is worn away. Across the river you can see limestone cliffs that have been exposed by this type of erosion. , The river deposits sediment in the slower moving inside bend. In time plants will grow on this new nutrient-rich land., What Are Those Buildings?, The stone and brick tower you see rising from the middle of the river was the original intake structure for Nashville's water system. In 1889, water flowed by gravity from the intake to the George Reyer Pumping Station, the red brick building beside the railroad tracks. The pumping station sent the water to the 8th Avenue Reservoir for settling before being used as the city's drinking water. , The pumping station remains in service today as part of the Omohundro Water Treatment complex. The historic intake is no longer in service but is used as a navigational beacon for river traffic. The intake, pumping station, and reservoir are all on the National Register of Historic Places.