Owensboro’s Regional Water Resource Agency told City and County officials Tuesday about a multi-million dollar project that RWRA must begin in the next two years. To fund the project, RWRA would be forced to raise rates for industries and residents starting sometime in 2022.
The need for this project follows a series of violations RWRA was notified of by the Kentucky Division of Water due to aging infrastructure that cannot sustain the high concentration of sewage and solid waste loadings that are coming through the pipes.
Joe Schepers, executive director for RWRA, explained that loads at the company’s two plants — Max Rhoads Plant (MRP) and David Hawes Plant (DHP) — had exceeded capacity over the last two years.
“We’ve received numerous notice of violations for both plants,” Schepers said. “The only way to stay in compliance with the agreed order is to do some significant structural upgrades to both plants.”
MRP was constructed in 1955 and received upgrades in 1999-2000, while DHP was constructed in 1985. Since 1985, Schepers said, RWRA had experienced a significant increase in the loadings, mostly due to loadings increases coming from local industries.
Loadings can consist of sewage and storm water. The higher the concentration in the water, the more stress it puts on the plant, Schepers explained.
He also showed examples of the damage caused by aging infrastructure and over-capacity loads to Judge-Executive Al Mattingly, Mayor Tom Watson and a number of City and County Commissioners during Tuesday’s meeting.
One photo Schepers presented showed an underground pipe that was deteriorating, as well as a piece of structural support that contained cracks running all the way around it.
Though RWRA considered a “do nothing” plan at one point, Schepers said that wasn’t an option any longer. He said RWRA would begin receiving heavy fines if both plants weren’t reconstructed.
Two of the new plans RWRA presented involved projects with heavy price tags. One plan would keep the industry responsible for pretreatment through limits with the addition of a nutrient removal tank. That plan would cost roughly $50.5 million, he said.
The other plan would involve constructing a third wastewater treatment plant near Panther Creek Park. The industry would still be responsible for pretreatment at all three plants with limits. That plan, Schepers said, would cost roughly $83.1 million.
RWRA’s current recommendation was to move forward with the lower-cost plan by updating the MRP and DHP plants. However, it would take six to eight months before any major decisions were made, he said.
“In six to eight months, we should have a better understanding of which one we want to move forward with,” he said. “RWRA will meet with elected officials in the summer of 2022.”
At that meeting, RWRA will explain to City Commissioners their need for a rate increase to fund the project, Schepers added, saying RWRA’s current budget could not absorb a multi-million dollar hit.
Schepers said RWRA’s board of directors had already approved conceptual designs for both plans. He said RWRA hoped to begin construction in Fall 2022. The project would take 8-10 years to complete.
