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-pers

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