EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF FLOOD MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES IN URBAN KARST AREAS

The response of a karst aquifer to storm events is often faster and more severe than that of a non-karst area. Many urban karst areas (UKAs) are plagued by groundwater flooding resulting from the highly permeable and diffusive aquifers. In UKAs, municipalities often struggle with flood management, because traditional strategies are ineffective. The City of Bowling Green (CoBG), Kentucky is a representative example of an area plagued by karst flooding, despite several decades of research and work done to understand and mitigate the issues, beginning with Nick Crawford’s efforts in the 1980s. The CoBG, like many UKAs, uses Class V Injection Wells to reduce the severity of flooding. The overall effectiveness, siting, and flood impact of Injection Wells in UKA’s are still lacking; their influence on groundwater quantity and quality are evident from recurring problems of flooding and groundwater contamination. Since the 1980s, Bowling Green has drastically increased the number of wells, without much regard to geophysical siting considerations or best management practices developed by Crawford. The purpose of this research is to examine Class V Injection Wells in the CoBG to determine how Injection Well siting, design, and performance influence urban karst hydrology. Moreover, this study builds upon the work pioneered by Crawford more than 30 years ago through the use of high-resolution monitoring, geostatistical techniques, and hydrologic modeling (WMS-GSSHA), to explore possible siting issues contributing to the drainage efficiency of the system. Currently, more than 2,500 wells have been identified and documented and increased high-resolution data logging of changes in stormwater discharge and well levels indicate a highly variable and complex response due to urbanization.