Little River

The bane of Hopkinsville

Little River, near the Hopkinsville water treatment plant

The Little River meanders in, out, around and through Hopkinsville. I can't say that the city has a love/hate relationship with the river, because the city has little (if any) love for the river and wishes it would just go away. Little River is ignored during dry spells, but when there's a big rain, it comes out of its banks and then it gets some attention.

We had a bad flood earlier this winter. Now the city council is asking, "What can we DO about the river?!" They have formed a new commission that is supposed to supervise things within city limits to help prevent flooding, but in my opinion, the best thing to do is to clean the river out (note the fallen tree limb in above photo), move people off the flood plain, and let the river rip.

I often take my morning walk in one of the subdivisions that was badly flooded a few months ago. Some of the homes are still standing empty. I guess their owners are just not coming back. It is a beautiful area with mature trees. The homes look like they were probably built in the 60's or 70's. Most are nice ranch-style houses, and the river runs right through some of their backyards. Did no-one ever consider that the river might get wild someday? Of course hindsight is perfect, but those homes should have been built on 6 foot foundations instead of sitting right on the ground.

I wish Hopkinsville could make the river more of an asset for the community. If Little River were cleaned out, maybe it could be canoed or kayaked.