LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Division of Water Quality will host Water for Life on July 19 at Gatton Park, a free family-friendly festival showcasing water as a vital community resource.

The event, scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m. at 795 Manchester Street, will feature education booths with games and giveaways, local brewery offerings from Next Round Brewing, and a fire truck, organizers said. Visitors will have the opportunity to see Town Branch Creek, Lexington's original water source, flowing through the downtown park.

The festival is being held as part of the Kentucky-Tennessee Water Professionals Conference, which brings water professionals to Lexington in 2026 to discuss drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater issues. The Water Professionals Conference is the largest annual water technical conference and exhibition in Kentucky and Tennessee. The Young Professionals Committee is inviting local families to participate in water-focused activities to give back to the community.

Gatton Park, which opened in August 2025, transformed a former parking lot behind Rupp Arena into an 11-acre downtown greenspace. The park features restored portions of Town Branch Creek, which once powered mills and distilleries in the 1800s but became hidden under the city in culverts by the 1930s.

The event was made possible through partnerships between Lexington's Division of Water Quality and Kentucky American Water, along with sponsors, exhibitors, and volunteer planners.