The National Park Service found themselves with aging sewer line infrastructure that could potentially lead to disruption of the sensitive cave environment below the surface of the park.  Before the park could excavate through this World Heritage Site to update their wastewater facilities, the National Park Service needed to address archaeological resources to fulfill their obligations of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.

Impact7G was assigned hundreds of locations throughout Mammoth Cave National Park for manhole replacements, lift stations, soil borings, and bedrock soundings in addition to a 2.4-mile-long corridor for a new sewer line across the main ridge above the cave. Our team was able to identify numerous components within the park, ranging from the prehistoric era to the period of historic park development, including a significant discovery: the identification of an archaeological site above the cave entrance which has direct ties to prehistoric use of the vast cave network below the park’s surface.