WHAS11 coverage

(WHAS11) - The home of my “Old Kentucky home” has a problem; old Kentucky sewers that overflow. 

That’s why taxpayers in Bardstown and nearly 20 other Kentucky cities are being forced to spend millions of dollars.     

More Kentucky communities will soon be in the same boat.

 If you live in Louisville, you’ve already been hit with a rate increase from MSD which is building miles of new sewer lines and plants.

The folks in Bardstown are next, but won’t be the last to pay more for sewers that don’t cause health and environmental problems.

The annual bourbon festival sends the drink flowing in the bourbon capitol of the world.  But Bardstown has a problem with another type of flow; sewage overflows.  Video tapes put on the internet by City Council candidate Kevin Brumley shows raw sewage spewing out of the system.  Brumley began his videotaping after seeing sewage flowing through the Old Bardstown Village tourist site.

Gary Levy of the State Division of Water says the state has cited Bardstown for nine major violations in the past two years.  There have been sewage overflows an average of every other day.  Bardstown’s mayor says the city has begun building a new two mile long, four million dollar sewer line to help alleviate the problem and realizes they’ll have to spend more:

While Bardstown may be the worst, it’s not alone.

19 communities across the state, including Louisville, currently have consent agreements with environmental regulators to fix major sewer problems. 

Levy says several more fast growing places, including Oldham County, Taylorsville, Shepherdsville and Mt. Washington will be forced to spend to upgrade sewer systems in the next few years.

Gary levy of the State Division of Water is scheduled to meet with Bardstown city officials Wednesday to hammer out a written agreement, detailing what Bardstown promises to do to fix its sewage overflows. 

Levy lives in Louisville and says he expects another rate hike from MSD to help pay for upgrades which could take until 2024 to complete.