Edmonson County lands $9.2M for major water system upgrade
BROWNSVILLE, Ky. (WNKY) — Edmonson County is set to receive $9.256 million in federal funding to modernize its aging water treatment plant in Brownsville, a project local leaders say is critical for meeting future demand and improving long-term reliability.
The funding, secured through the federal appropriations process with help from U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell’s office, will fund phase one of a multi-stage upgrade of the Edmonson County Water District’s treatment facility.
“This is a huge factor moving forward in helping us get our water district infrastructure to a point that it needs to be,” said Edmonson County Judge-Executive Scott Lindsey. “We’re experiencing growth that we really didn’t expect.”
County officials say Edmonson County has seen population growth of about 6.8% since the last census, increasing pressure on infrastructure that has faced years of deferred maintenance and changing demands. Lindsey said the project will bring new technology and equipment to the plant, making operations more efficient and improving how water is treated.
“There’s a lot of technology that’s different now than it was ten years ago,” Lindsey said. “We’re trying to use this money to upgrade the water treatment facilities as much as possible and get them to a more modern-day era where we can treat the water better and more effectively.”
The county has also secured $6.5 million in state funding and is waiting to see if an additional $14 million in federal funding will be approved for a new low-water intake on the Green River. That intake would help protect the county’s water supply during drought conditions.
“We’ve gotten down to where the water was pretty close to the bottom intake, and that’s a scary time for us,” Lindsey said. “If the low-water intake comes in, it will effectively give us the ability to pump water at a very low level of water.”
If all funding pieces come together, the total investment in the county’s water system would exceed $27 million.
For scale, Lindsey noted the county’s entire annual budget is about $11 million this year, making the water project one of the largest infrastructure investments the county has ever undertaken.
Before construction can begin, the project must go through engineering work and state regulatory approvals. Lindsey said county and water district officials are already working to move the project forward.
Even if the final piece of funding for the intake does not come through immediately, Lindsey said the work will still have to be done.
“It still has to be done,” he said. “We’ll have to find the funding to move this forward at some point.”
County officials say the project is expected to improve water quality, efficiency and long-term reliability, while also positioning Edmonson County for future residential and business growth.
