Mayor: Sewage lagoon embankment seeping, residents warned

SMITHLAND, Ky. (AP) — A sewage lagoon above a small western Kentucky city is seeping through its embankment and state regulators said it’s likely to fail. Smithland Mayor Bill Hesser has warned residents living downhill from the Smithland Wastewater Treatment Lagoon to prepare to evacuate if more rains increase the danger. A statement from the mayor says the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet notified city officials that the lagoon’s embankment along Highway 453 is seeping. The mayor says the city is working as quickly as it can to remedy the situation, especially with more rain in the immediate forecast.