Lexington gets millions to stop chlorine use, treat some water with safer process

Rayleigh Deaton
·2 min read

Lexington is getting nearly $12 million from the state to pay for a new, safer process to clean wastewater before it is released back into the environment.

On Tuesday, Gov. Andy Beshear presented the $11.8 million grant, which comes from COVID aid as part of the state’s Better Kentucky Cleaner Water Program.

“Today, we’re in Lexington, because y’all have it together, and you have it going on,” Beshear said, adding that Lexington is the second recipient — after Shelbyville — of program funding.

The money will be used to install a new Ultraviolet disinfectant system at Lexington’s Town Branch and West Hickman wastewater treatment plants, to replace the chlorine treatment process used now.

Charlie Martin, director of water quality for the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, said that the long-used chlorine method comes with health risks and water quality issues, such as toxic gas exposure and harmful byproducts.

“Over time, we’ve learned that there are risks associated with using chlorine,” Martin said. “It’s a risk to our employees, a risk to the surrounding county around us.”

Mayor Linda Gorton said, “Today’s announcement is an important investment in our sanitary sewers that keeps the public safe and protects our quality of life and the Bluegrass environment that we all treasure.”

Beshear said the state’s Cleaner Water Program is expected to create over 3,800 jobs across the commonwealth and provide safer drinking water to Kentuckians. The program funding, appropriated by the Kentucky General Assembly, is allocated in three ways:

▪ $150 million is allocated based on each county’s proportion of Kentucky’s population as a whole, excepting Jefferson County.

▪ $50 million is for grants to utilities to provide drinking water to those in rural areas or to utilities under a federal consent decree.

▪ $49.9 million is allocated to supplement grants for projects with a cost exceeding a county’s allocation amount and other grant sources.

State Sen. Reggie Thomas said, “We will use this money wisely so that Lexington, Kentucky and all people associated with this area can prosper.”

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