Another Warren County public park is getting a grant-funded upgrade through the county’s Stormwater Management Division.

Following projects at Phil Moore and Romanza Johnson parks that stabilized stream banks, mitigated erosion and enhanced recreation, Basil Griffin Park is now the target of a project expected to reduce flooding and improve water quality.

Stormwater Management Director Nikki Koller said last week that the county has been approved for a $309,000 grant through the Kentucky Division of Water to implement a stormwater quality improvement project at the park bounded by Three Springs Road and Smallhouse Road.

Koller said the project will address water quality, erosion and flooding issues at the park by creating a constructed wetland in the area near the old amphitheater and chapel.

“The lake overflows into this area and then the water drains directly into the Lost River Cave system,” Koller said. “This project will protect the discharge from debris, leaf litter and trash.

“The wetlands will help reduce nutrients, sediment and pollution. This is the last point where we can treat the water before it goes into the cave system.”

According to Stormwater Management’s grant application, this project is needed because of the 33-acre lake that is part of the 112-acre Griffin Park.

Water from the lake discharges underground into the cave system and has been dye-traced to confirm its direct connection to Lost River Cave.

Areas within the park flood regularly, the grant application points out. The flooding, caused by debris buildup that restricts flow within the conveyance system, can be mitigated by the constructed wetland, according to the narrative in the application.

The project is designed to mitigate flooding by clearing the obstructed flow path and adding nutrient and sediment treatment options.

Koller said she is working with the Louisville-based Resource Environmental Solutions ecological services firm on design of the project.

Preliminary plans call for the 382-foot-long stormwater outlet channel to be widened to include a bank planting area, with trees and shrubs expected to help stabilize the channel.

Other elements of the wetlands project include boulders, channel lining and non-woven filter fabric designed to decrease erosion and filter out sediment and debris.

Among other elements of the project, Koller said, is a plan to replace the existing wooden pedestrian bridge in the area with a more durable metal structure.

Koller said she will be working with Western Kentucky University’s Center for Human GeoEnvironmental Studies program to collect baseline data before the project can be implemented.

The process of having the project reviewed by the Kentucky Division of Water and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will take “a few months,” Koller said. She hopes to advertise for bids to construct the project by the summer of 2025.

Although the constructed wetlands project won’t come with the recreational enhancements that are part of the Romanza Johnson Park and Phil Moore Park projects along Drakes Creek, Koller said the Griffin Park project can have great benefits if constructed correctly.

“We’ll be making sure the grade is right and the wetland plantings are planted correctly,” she said. “It takes awhile to get them (plantings) established. It’s not simple, but I really want this project to succeed.”