State Approves Emergency Modifications for Somerset Water Plant

Quick response to Corps of Engineers’ lowering of Lake Cumberland
 
FRANKFORT, Ky. – In a quick response to a water emergency created by the lowering of Lake Cumberland, the Kentucky Division of Water (DOW) has approved plans by Somerset Water Service to modify its water intakes.

The municipal system supplies water to about 100,000 people in the Lake Cumberland region. The Army Corps of Engineers lowered the lake to 680 feet above sea level – 43 feet below normal and perilously close to water intake levels for Somerset and six other water systems that collectively supply 203,000 people in nine counties – Adair, Clinton, Cumberland, Lincoln, McCreary, Monroe, Pulaski, Russell and Wayne.

The modification will enable Somerset to continue to draw raw water if the Corps of Engineers decides to lower the lake even further during repairs to its impoundment, Wolf Creek Dam. The Corps has advised local water systems that a lowering to 650 feet is a “real possibility.”

Somerset’s plans were submitted to DOW for review on Feb. 21 and were approved March 5. Somerset Water Service Manager Charles Dick estimates the project will cost $1.2 million.
Governor Ernie Fletcher said the Governor’s Office for Local Development (GOLD) is working on a state grant to repay Somerset for some of the project costs. “The Governor’s Office for Local Development, along with the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority, is working diligently to locate available funding resources to address concerns related to the relocation of raw water intakes that serve more than 200,000 Kentucky citizens,” said Governor Fletcher.

For more information on this article please visit www.water.ky.gov.