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Bowling Green OKs Fair Street drainage basin after city acquires two flood‑prone properties
Summary
Commissioners authorized a $217,441 contract to build a drainage basin on Fair Street after the city acquired two properties to site the basin; staff said the work is intended to prevent repeat flooding and sinkhole damage and estimated neighborhood disruption would be resolved before October.
The Bowling Green Board of Commissioners voted April 21 to authorize a drainage basin construction project on Fair Street, awarding a contract to Scott and Ritter Inc. for an amount not to exceed $217,441.
Staff told commissioners the decision follows severe flooding events earlier in the year that damaged homes and revealed sinkhole risk in the low point of the watershed. The city acquired two properties at 1039 and 1041 Fair Street to create space for a basin to store stormwater and provide an engineered route for runoff, with staff saying the purchases were done with homeowners’ cooperation.
Public works/environmental staff explained the basin scope: excavation, grading, installing storm sewer, constructing a headwall and other drainage structures, and measures intended to reduce the chance of recurring sinkhole collapse in the same locations. Staff described the project as a mix of surface storage and subsurface work aimed at giving water alternate routes during heavy rain.
When asked about timeline and neighborhood disruption, staff said work in the neighborhood would be finished before October. The commission approved the contract unanimously and thanked staff for outreach to affected homeowners.
City staff said the basin is one part of broader stormwater and sinkhole mitigation work as development adds impervious surface across the city.
