MORGANFIELD, Ky. (Sept. 26, 2012) – Gov. Steve Beshear joined local officials Wednesday to announce a grant worth nearly $1 million to design and construct a new inter-connection water line system enabling the city of Sturgis to purchase treated water from the Union County Water District. The new water line treatment plant consolidation will eliminate the need for the city of Sturgis to rehabilitate or replace its current, outdated water system.
The Kentucky Infrastructure Authority is also committing $3 million to the project.
The $986,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) will go toward constructing more than 75,000 linear feet of water transmission lines, two pump stations, a new 500,000-gallon water storage tank and the costs of decommissioning the existing plant. Water rates will not increase as a result of this new project.
The city of Sturgis currently operates a water treatment plant that opened in 1978. Since 2004, the city has received 33 Notices of Violations (NOV’s) based on unsafe levels of methane and acids found in the water. The NOV’s are due in part to the poor quality of the city’s river water source. To continue to use the source, the city would need to install a costly grit removal system and other upgrades. The city’s current water distribution system also suffers a 30 percent water loss and reportedly expends $40,000 per year just on maintenance of their plant.
Rather than rehabilitate or completely replace the outdated water treatment plant, the city of Sturgis will purchase water from the Union County Water District. The Union County Water District purchases water from the water treatment plant in Morganfield, which has the capacity to produce six million gallons per day (MGD) and is currently running at less than 36 percent capacity. This provides adequate space for the city of Sturgis to access water from the Morganfield plant as well.
“Decommissioning the Sturgis water treatment plant and connecting with the Union County Water District will save the city thousands of dollars over the next several years,” said Department for Local Government Commissioner (DLG) Tony Wilder. “More importantly, as a result of this project the citizens of Sturgis will have reliable access to safe drinking water with no increased cost to their water bill.”
“This project will have a positive impact on the lives of the citizens in Sturgis by allowing them to get water – clean, affordable water — from the Union County water treatment facility and eliminate the need to upgrade the city’s antiquated water system,” said Sen. Ridley. “This is especially good news because water rates will not increase. This is a win-win for Sturgis and Union County. As a legislator, it has always been a priority to provide clean water to all our citizens and I am proud that we have taken another step towards that goal.”
“Quality infrastructure is the foundation for a community to develop and thrive,” said Rep. John Arnold. “This water consolidation project will alleviate the city of Sturgis’ reliability and safety issues with their water infrastructure system without causing any cost burden to taxpayers.”
The state’s CDBG program is administered by DLG and funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Kentucky’s Congressional leaders’ ongoing support of the CDBG program ensures the availability of continued funding in Kentucky and nationally.
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