Mazzoli Bioswale EarthCache
everplaid: Getting the answers for this EC depended on a sign that has since been removed.
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The coordinates will bring you to a sign right outside the gated Mazzoli Federal Building Parking Lot. The sign, on the publicly accessible sidewalk on the east side of 7th Street, tells you about great options for geo-engineering green stormwater controls in a city.
Please note: you can't park on the east side of the street.
When it rains here in Louisville, pollutants from parking lots usually go straight to the stormwater sewer system and make their way to the Ohio River without any treatment. Scientists and engineers have developed ways of designing parking lots to catch rain water, scrubbing out much of the pollution before the water makes it to the sewer system and reducing the amount of water that makes it into the sewer. The Louisville & Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) is trying out different ways to keep pollutants from reaching the sewers. One of their experiments is right here at the Mazzoli Federal Building parking lot.
If you're facing the sign and looking straight over it, you should see one of the parking lot's two "bioswales" right in front of you through the fence. A bioswale is a "wide, shallow bowl-shaped area filed with native plants and amended soil." The parking lot is designed to drain water into the bioswale where the soil and plant root systems collect rainwater, slow down its flow, and scrub parking lot pollutants from it. Some of the water is even absorbed, never making it to the sewer! MSD did more than add bioswales to help reduce rainwater pollution, though. The sign you're standing before explains their efforts. Who knows, maybe smart, green design will become commonplace all over Louisville!
To log this cache, send me the answers to the following questions. You'll be able to get them all from the sign:
1. According to MSD's sign, what's another name for a feature that is a "wide, shallow bowl-shaped area filled with native plants and amended soil"?
2. What fills the gaps between the permeable pavers?
3. The permeable pavers rest on three layers of what?
Got the answers? Great! You can either message or email me with them.
*** Congrats to ARF - first to find! ***
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MSD changed their sign at some point, prompting a change to the information provided and accompanying questions. Thanks to the cachers who pointed that out to me (particularly thekingofbattle's help)! The original sign discussed another feature - the green roof on the Mazzoli Federal Building - but that has since been removed. Also, you won't see the word "bioswale" on this version of the sign. Instead, you'll see the answer to question #1. I saved the original short and long descriptions of this cache in my owner maintenance log here: (visit link)
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