BGMU returns home from helping in Eastern Kentucky

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Bowling Green Municipal Utilities sent 2 crews to Letcher County 2 weeks ago to aid with repair to water systems.

The crews returned over the weekend and Safety Director Jason Duckett took time to speak with News 40 about their experience with our eastern neighbors. Duckett said the biggest challenge for he and other workers was overcoming the terrain of the county. Duckett spoke about how the mapping of their systems were different given that the area was mountainous. “We’re blessed enough to have ipads and technology to know where our valves, water mains… over there they don’t have that mostly because there’s no cellphone service”.

Duckett said the Letcher Water & Sewage facility had only 4 employees before the flood, and without the help of BGMU and two other utility companies offering their support, Letcher county would have been months behind on getting water restored to most of their customers. Duckett told News 40 starting the first day, 3,200 out of 3,8000 customers were without running water and when they left, there were between 1,200 to 1,300 still without. “To us that doesn’t seem like a lot, but to a company that size, that is a lot”.