Central KY water treatment plant back to normal operations after nearly shutting down
A water treatment plant in Central Kentucky that previously thought it would have to shut down amid major flooding has returned to normal operations.
On Monday afternoon the city of Harrodsburg said its water treatment plant is up and running at full power, and residents no longer needed to limit water usage. The city had previously asked residents to limit water usage for days after intense floods threatened the plant.
The city said it would not have been able to resume regular operations at the plant without the help of its community members.
“We would also like to express our appreciation to North Mercer and Lake Village for their help in this matter and to our own City Water Treatment Plant Operators and Waste Water Treatment Plant Operators who have gone above and beyond to keep us operational during this historical event,” the city of Harrodsburg said in a Facebook post.
On Sunday, the city said it anticipated having to shut down the plant and relying on the city and county’s stored water supplies. The city also thought it would be without water for a week after the reserves were depleted.
Floodwaters got to within a foot and a half of the plant’s raw water station on the Kentucky River. The city said it was able to continue pumping and filling up the tanks until midnight Monday.
“Fortunately, the situation has not progressed as quickly as we anticipated, and we have not had to shut anything down,” the city said later Monday afternoon before announcing the plant resumed full operations.
Water pumps need electricity to pump water from reservoirs or rivers to your faucet at home. The pumps must be near the water source, and rising flood waters were threatening to overtake the intake pumps.
The Kentucky River at High Bridge Lock near Harrodsburg crested Sunday morning at 47.13 feet, well above the flood stage of 30 feet and past the major flooding threshold of 39 feet. The 47.13 feet reading was the third-highest recorded crest in the river’s history, according to the National Weather Service.
As of 9:15 p.m. Monday, the river sat at 42.53 feet and is projected to drop below flood stage Wednesday morning, according to the NWS.
