MSD and its community partners broke ground on the $60 million Shawnee Park Basin Project on December 6. This project is key to reducing sewer overflows into the Ohio River. At the same time, MSD is committed to preserving the historic nature of Shawnee Park. The basin – which will be largely invisible to the public when completed – will be constructed under a portion of the Great Lawn in Shawnee Park.
The Project is a collective effort between MSD, Louisville Metro Parks, The Olmsted Parks Conservancy, community leaders, and local residents that will also feature new park amenities including an open-air pavilion, enhanced green space, premium landscaping, a new paved parking area for the spray pad, a resurfaced loop road, renovation of the lily pond, and restoration of the Ball House and athletic courts.
Thanks to basins like this and the Ohio River Tunnel that will run underneath downtown, by 2020, MSD will capture and treat 98 percent of the combined sewer overflow volume for a typical year of rain.
The Project will create 130 local job opportunities, including positions for carpenters, ironworkers, electricians, masons, pipefitters, heavy equipment operators and more.
