Bowling Green leaf pickup crews work to protect stormwater system, support WKU partnership
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WNKY) – As fall leaves pile up across Bowling Green, city crews are moving through the first zones of the annual leaf pickup program, a weeks-long operation that protects the city’s underground cave systems and supports an agricultural partnership with Western Kentucky University.
Public Works director Andy Souza said Bowling Green’s geology makes the program more critical than in many cities. Much of the city’s stormwater drains directly into cave systems beneath the surface before flowing into the Barren River.
“If those access points get clogged, and they can be clogged by leaves, that causes a problem when it rains and we could have flooding,” Souza said. “The primary reason we do leaf pickup is to keep those accesses free and clear.”
The city deploys a four-person crew for each truck: a driver, a hose operator and two rakers who pull leaves within reach of the vacuum line. Crews begin each day with a safety meeting and sweep two days through each zone, extending to a third if leaf volume is heavy.
Hunter Hayes, one of the newest workers on the team, said much of the job happens before a single leaf is collected.
“We were in the shop making sure all the trucks and leaf machines were good. It was a lot of prep before we got out here,” he said.
Once in the field, the work slows to a crawl as teams coordinate movement down each street.
“The driver and the hose operator coordinate everything,” Hayes said. “As the raker, I’m keeping the pile in reach so he doesn’t have to overextend or stay in one spot too long.”
Souza said residents can help the process significantly by raking leaves to the curb, not into the street or storm drains, and keeping sticks, branches and trash separate from leaf piles. The city’s industrial vacuum can reach up to seven feet from the roadway.
The crews also encounter unexpected debris hidden in leaf piles.
One worker said he has found items ranging from brake rotors to an engine block, objects that can damage the equipment if they’re sucked into the hose.
Collected leaves are transported to Western Kentucky University, where the school’s agricultural program processes them into organic mulch. Souza said the mulch is then sold to support student scholarships.
“Instead of plastic bags going to a landfill, we’re able to use the leaves as a resource,” he said.
The city’s leaf pickup will continue through all ten zones over the coming weeks. Residents can check scheduled pickup dates and guidelines on the City of Bowling Green website.
