As National Public Works Week (NPWW) comes to an end, Knox County wants to conclude the celebration with a story on Stormwater Management and outstanding employee Greg Harris.

“Stormwater Management serves Knox County residents by enforcing federal, state and local regulations on land development that help protect infrastructure and our community’s water quality,” said Mayor Tim Burchett. “We appreciate all the hard work that Stormwater employees do to protect both our environment and county resources.”

Greg Harris began his tenure with Knox County over two decades ago. He works with Stormwater Management to improve and maintain the health of Knox County water resources by lessening the effects of urban development. In doing so, Harris and the Stormwater Department serve Knox County residents by managing stormwater infrastructure to minimize losses due to flooding, working efficiently to comply with all federal and state regulations related to water resources and providing a regulatory frame work that ensures land development has minimal impacts on local resources.

“We try to enforce the rules and regulations of the county and state while also protecting the environment,” said Harris.

Along with its investigative and enforcement roles, Stormwater Management is also involved with many community projects, including: the Creek Walking Program, Water Quality Forum, county-wide watershed clean-ups, Adopt-A-Stream and Adopt-A-Watershed programs, Rainy Day Brush-off rain barrel exhibit and many other educational programs that teach kids about water quality issues.

For all the men and women who work diligently to ensure healthy water resources, maintain infrastructure, enforce public safety codes and all the other countless aspects of public works, Knox County thanks you.

For more information on National Public Works Week, visit www2.apwa.net/About/npww/

Other NPWW stories:

Knox County Highway Department
Knox County Solid Waste Department
Knox County Fire Prevention Bureau
Knox County Soil Conservation District