The City of Owensboro is considering using $2.5 million in federal funds to replacing and separating the downtown ravine sewer.
Owensboro is set to receive the second installment of $6.6 million dollars in ARPA funds in May, and City Manager Nate Pagan proposed they appropriate $2.5 million of those funds toward the Regional Water Resource Agency to reconstruct and upgrade the ravine sewer interceptor. The system is a 3,340-linear-foot system that combines sewage of the North-Central portion of the city.
The project is expected to cost $9.2 million. The sewer system has construction dates as early as the 1880s — nearly dating back to the founding of the city.
“The condition of the line is unstable and has structural issues within various sections of the pipe, including improper pipe sizing when originally installed,” Pagan said.
Should the sewer line fail, it would impact 11 businesses that rely on the system.
The following streets will be affected by the sewer removal:
- West Second Street
- West Third Street
- West Fourth Street
- West Sixth Street
- West Seventh Street
- Walnut Street
- Elm Street
- Poplar Street
- Maple Avenue
- Orchard Street
- Castlen Street
The ordinance was read for the first time during Tuesday’s City Commission meeting. It must be read a second time before it commissioners can vote to approve.
The ordinance states that the $2.5 million in ARPA funds would go toward the construction, and the RWRA will absorb the remainder of the roughly $6.7 million project cost.
“By utilizing these federal funds for the project, it saves our local taxpayers and rate payers money, otherwise these additional costs will be built into rate increases undertaken by the RWRA,” Pagan said.
Pagan said that work would hopefully begin in the spring, around the arrival of ARPA funds.
He also noted that the conversation about fixing this specific piping has been on his radar since he began working in the city’s government roughly 20 years ago.
