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MSD Breaks Ground on $10.2M Bullitt County Sewer Overhaul to Curb Overflows, Odors
The Metropolitan Sewer District has launched a $10.2 million project to replace two aging wastewater plants in Bullitt County with a new pump station and sewer lines, aiming to stop overflows and the persistent smell that residents say has plagued Hillview for years â though ratepayers will see gradual increases over the next decade.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. â The Metropolitan Sewer District on Friday formally launched a $10.2 million capital improvement project to overhaul wastewater treatment in Bullitt County, a move officials say will reduce hazardous sewer overflows, address long-standing odor complaints and improve service for a growing community â at a cost that will be borne by local ratepayers.
MSD officials outlined the plan at a morning news conference, describing a project that will decommission two smaller, aging treatment plants and redirect their flows to a larger facility in Jefferson County.
The two plants slated for closure are the Hillview No. 1 plant on Lees Lane, which is more than 50 years old, and the Bullitt Hills plant on Zoneton Road, which is more than 25 years old. Both rely on open-air treatment processes, which MSD says are underequipped to serve the area's growing population.
In their place, MSD will build a new regional pump station near Preston Highway and Zoneton Road designed to move more than 2,000 gallons of wastewater per minute, along with more than 7,000 linear feet of underground sewer lines. The wastewater will be sent to MSD's Derek R. Guthrie Water Quality Treatment Center in southwest Jefferson County, which can treat up to 60 million gallons per day.
The project is expected to take about two years.
For Hillview residents, the most visible â and most talked-about â benefit is the promise of relief from a persistent odor that has lingered for years. The smell has been a running complaint in the community, even spawning a Facebook page whose name declares that "Hillview stinks."
"There's a Facebook page out there that says Hillview stinks, and that's up there because of one of our sewer plants in the past," Hillview Mayor Jim Eadens said at the announcement. "So if you guys are hearing me on the Facebook page that say Hillview stinks, it's time to say Hillview smells good."
Residents described the smell as overwhelming and difficult to escape.
"The smell's coming in from the windows," said Angela Harlow. "You can smell it as you go down."
David Johnson, MSD's chief engineer, said the odor problem predates the agency's involvement and has been worse since MSD took over the Bullitt County Sanitation District several years ago.
"I've lived out here for over 25 years myself and this has been an odor issue," Johnson said. He noted that MSD has already made progress, including repairing leaking sewers, eliminating some pump stations and building a new pump station off Bullitt Lick Road.
Johnson also framed the project as an environmental and public health matter, not just a nuisance fix. The current system discharges into a creek that runs through Hillview, behind homes and through areas where children play, he said.
"This discharges to a creek that runs through Hillview, so it's running behind people's homes," Johnson said. "It's where kids play."
The upgrade comes with a financial trade-off. Bullitt County ratepayers will see incremental increases over the next 10 years, with Johnson estimating an initial bump of roughly 10% to 12%.
Harlow said the increase would be worth it if it finally eliminates the smell.
"For the rates to go up, they're so outrageous now, but if that's what they got to do to get rid of it or get rid of the smell, it'll be worth it," she said.
MSD has posted additional information about the Bullitt Hills and Hillview No. 1 plant elimination projects on its website.