Public Domain Picture: 20110711-RD-LSC-0147

Monday, July 11, 2011-The Harrodsburg Water Treatment Plant is the potable water supply for nearly 10,000 customers in Harrodsburg in Mercer County, including three wholesale customers – North Mercer Water District, City of Burgin and Lake Village Water Association. Mercer County is located in Central Kentucky and has seen steady population growth over the last 60 years – a trend that was confirmed with the release of the 2010 Census data. Given its proximity to Lexington, that growth is projected to continue through 2025 and beyond. The city needed U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development’s assistance because its existing plant is aging, much of the equipment is outdated and the demand for potable water from the treatment plant has been increasing for years. The existing water treatment plant needs to expand and improve its process due to the increased demand for water and EPA regulations pertaining to disinfection byproducts. The city meets the regulations that are currently in place, but it may not be able to meet future, more stringent regulations without improvements to the treatment process. The plant expansion will increase the current maximum processing capacity of 4 million gallons, to 6 million gallons of water per day. On this day, crews are assembling iron reinforcement bars for the new flocculation/sedimentation structure. That facility will allow the water to be held longer for additional natural separation of sediment, reducing the need for chemicals to accelerate separation of fine particles; producing clean water. In the back of the plant, a 600,000 gallon well is being constructed to support peak demand periods and stabilize production flow. Rural Development provided a $7.7 million loan and $3.3 million grant, totaling $11 million toward this project. Other funding sources for the project include a $1 million grant from the HUD Community Development Block Grant program to round out the $12 million project. USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.

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Centralkentucky, Communitydevelopmentblockgrant, Dcbg, Departmentofagriculture, Energy, Flocculation, Harrodsburg, Hud, Ky, Mercercounty, Potable, Rd, Ruraldevelopment, Sediment, Usa, Usda

April 29, 2014