From the Kentucky Standard
By Jenny Blandford
Replacing water pipes downtown and restoring Rubble Dam are the two main projects Bardstown’s water and sewer committee wants to tackle in 2009.
City Engineer Larry Hamilton said the cast-iron water line downtown has been in place since 1930 and is old and outdated. The cost to replace the pipes would be about $120,000, and the project would be constructed in three phases. He said this year would be a good time to do such a project since it would coincide with the proposed downtown streetscape project. The sidewalks will be reconstructed as part of the streetscape project.
The three phases for replacing old pipes would consist of several thousand feet for new pipe. Phase I would be from Broadway to Court Square. Phase II would be replacing pipes around Court Square. The final phase would continue down West Stephen Foster Avenue to the front of St. Joseph School.
The Rubble Dam project, which also includes a potential whitewater park, is a joint effort between the city and the Bardstown Boaters. RiverRestoration.org’s Jason Carey completed Phase I in November and is ready to begin Phase II, Mayor Dick Heaton said, per City Council’s approval.
The project on the Beech Fork River is not just about the whitewater park, Hamilton said, as it would help with the erosion at the dam and its restoration. It would also help Bardstown’s water supply since water is pumped from the river into Sympson Lake.
Heaton said the city hopes to get money from the economic stimulus plan to help fund these projects. Both projects will be discussed at the next City Council meeting Jan. 27.
Two other projects the committee discussed as important projects to consider in 2009 were a raw water study to find a potential back-up water supply and a sewer rate study to help the city stay in compliance with state law.
A raw water study would cost $20,000. It was last updated in 2002. Sewer rates have not been raised in about five years.
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