Gainesville, FL--

A natural watershed in southwest gainesville is suffering...and city officials say it could  impact the quality of the city's drinking water.

Now Gainesville Public Works officials plan to save Tumblin Creek.

"I've been here 10 years and it's the same" says Motel ABC owner Anil Shnagara.

He's one of several business owners in Southwest Gainesville who say it's about time.

Tumblin Creek runs near several businesses along Southwest 13th Street, and for years they say they've put up with problems. 

"It's right adjacent to my property...the visitors don't know whether it belongs to the motel, the city or the state" America's Best Value Inn Manager Mike Patel says.

"They don't want to stay here," Shnagara said, "they prefer to stay by the highway... and that's hurting our business."

From graffited walls to unsightly green algae, and even trash and pollution washing into the creek, there's a laundry list of things that need fixing. 

But city officials say they now plan to clean up the watershed.

"What this project is looking to do is improve the water quality further down into Biven's Arm and remove some of the phosphorous and other chemicals that are in the waterway there, as well as improve the overall water quality for the city of gainesville's drinking water supply" Chip Skinner, City of Gainesville Public Works Spokesman, says.

For more than a decade, the city's public works department has studied the Tumblin Creek watershed and worked on creating a plan to restore the area.

Some ideas include removing the original channels and drains created in the 1960's, and returning some of the area's natural wetlands.

Preliminary plans are going to be presented to the city by the end of this month, and the construction and restoration projects are scheduled to begin next year.