MCLEAN CO, KY (WFIE) -
A two-year long water expansion project in McLean County is moving forward. Engineers are conducting studies and finalizing plans for a $9 million facility and plan to service all districts in the county.
District Manager Larence Holmes showed us the water filters his district uses, where most McLean County residents get their water.
"This pipe here goes into a what we call a flash mix," Holmes shows us.
But not all districts in the county get water from the Calhoun Water Plant.
Cities like Sacramento buy from neighboring counties.
"By buying it from them at any time, they can increase our price," said Sacramento Mayor Betty Howard.
Howard says the district has no choice.
"That's our only source of water right now," she explained.
Two years ago, city leaders formed a committee to find a way to stop wasteful spending on resources.
Now, the McLean County Regional Water Commission says Calhoun, Sacramento, Livermore, Island, and Beechgrove, will all have one main water source.
"It will be a lot more reliable because we'll have the capacity to furnish more water to people," said Calhoun Mayor Tommy Fulkerson.
A new plant will go up next to the current one, and the old Livermore plant will phase out once the new building operates.
"We have the resource now we have the ability to control our production, our cost," McLean Co. Judge Executive Kelly Thurman said.
And when it comes to emergency back-up supplies, the county will no longer have to depend on an outside source.
"It will make a tremendous difference just having the ability to turn a valve and furnish that area with water in a split second," Thurman said.
After the transition, leaders also expect water rates to stay the same or drop slightly lower.
Right now, residents are filling out surveys required by the EPA to help determine how much state funding the county will receive for the project.
Officials hope to start building the new plant within the year.
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The McLean County Regional Water Commission says Calhoun, Sacramento, Livermore, Island, and Beechgrove, will all have one main water source.
