7th Street Sinkhole

Globally, climate change is causing measurable increases in rainfall events. Kentucky has a unique geography of karst systems with porous and unstable rock layers that result in sinkholes. A sinkhole in urban Lexington causes flooding during heavy rain events and drains to the Royal Spring Aquifer, which supplies water to Georgetown. Designing and implementing stormwater solutions at the outlet of this 36-acre watershed would reduce the impact of pollutant loading and flooding at the location.

The project was broken up into two phases. Phase 1 focused on removing fill from the property that was dumped there during a prior construction project in the area. Additionally, Phase 1 proposed a new grade line for the property to redirect stormwater runoff. This grade line is depicted in Figure 1 below.