Live Green Lexington has hidden 12 geocaches around the city. Each cache represents a theme about water quality. You will have the chance to learn more about stormwater, pollinator gardens, Reforest the Bluegrass, and the Citizens’ Environmental Academy. Ready to learn more about the ways we keep our water clean and healthy?
Each hidden cache contains a unique token that you can take and keep. Collect all 12, and you can win a prize. Email us at LiveGreen@LexingtonKY.gov once you find them all.
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Ever wondered what that big tank is on the Legacy Trail?! This 60 foot storage tank captures excess stormwater and sewer during heavy rainfall.
The tank can hold 11 million gallons and can handle a two year 24-hour storm. This means, rain can accumulate up to three inches in a 24-hour period. That's right -- this giant tank can hold millions of gallons of diluted poop water! The wastewater treatment plant treats toilet water, dishwasher and washing machine water from homes that do not have a septic tank. Rainwater on the other hand does not get this treatment, but instead drains directly into local streams. Although, when heavy rain occurs, rain leaks into the sewer pipes from various ways and flows into the treatment plant’s tanks, causing overflows. These overflows temporarily stop the plant from operating. When the treatment plant’s tanks become close to full, the storage tank starts filling up with rainwater and sewer. When rainfall slows, the water in the storage tank goes to the wastewater treatment plant for treatment.
This infrastructure improvement is very helpful in our city, creating a more efficient treatment plant.
This cache was approved by LFUCG Parks and Recreation: CP18.