Below BG, Part 1: “The Problem”, modern growth exceeds cave capacity

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The city of Bowling Green was founded in 1798 and has until now relied on its natural drainage system to carry out all the unwanted water from the city, but now things are moving too fast for the caves.

Weather has been trending more intense over the last 50 years, and with that, extra rainfall and the caves are taking longer and longer to drain out over the decades, with no remedy to the situation. The April storm of 2025 brought almost 12 inches of rain over a 5 day span and that overwhelmed the caves drastically and resulted in terrible flooding countywide.

Now, the current city administration is taking action after hundreds of people have been affected by the rising water, and is looking at ways to combat the flooding after seeing that the caves all under the city are no longer cutting it, more than likely due to blockages underground that no one will ever find.

Tune back in to News 40 at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. May 28 for Below BG Part Two.