"After the relatively mild 1988 drought, it became apparent to many that Lexington's water supply has been living on borrowed time. As discussed in the first installment of this series, our current limited water system is required to meet growing local water demand while reliant on an aging and increasingly precarious system of locks and dams on the Kentucky River. However, while local and state entities have stepped in over the past two decades to address the issue, relatively little has been accomplished.
The Kentucky River Basin Steering Committee
Immediately after Mother Nature tweaked Lexington's nose with the 1988 drought, former Mayor Scotty Baesler decided to "do something" about our water supply problem. He set up the "Kentucky River Basin Steering Committee" to look into the matter and come up with an answer. This committee was composed of local citizens and funded jointly by Lexington and the Kentucky American Water Company. It had no "official" status; that is, its role was to advise and report only.
They met over two years beginning at the end of 1988. During much of 1989, the committee heard testimony from various "experts" on water supply and the Kentucky River and compiled a list of about 32 things that could be done to improve our water supply situation. From that list, the three top items on the committee's action list became: a pipeline to the Ohio River, a large major dam on the Kentucky River, and the construction of several small reservoirs on the larger tributaries to the Kentucky River. (On the cutting room floor of this process was the only improvement which has actually been put into effect: the valves that allow use of water stored by the existing locks and dams.)
The internationally-known Chicago engineering firm of Harza Engineers was retained, and studied our problem for nearly two years before recommended that a large, major dam should be constructed on the Kentucky River above Lock #10 (Boonesborough). The estimated cost was in the $250 million range, including the purchase of the land this structure would flood. How this would be paid for was not in the Harza scope.
The Steering Committee was then disbanded, and the Harza report was turned over to the Kentucky River Authority, which had recently been activated.
The Kentucky River Authority
The 14-lock and dam system on the Kentucky River was created for river barge traffic, which never really developed. The Corps of Engineers, which operated the system from 1880, hung on to them in spite of the considerable expense and the near total-absence of barge traffic.
In the late 1970s, the Corps offered to transfer ownership and operation of the locks and dams to the state, which at first declined. However, after the Corps welded the lock gates shut, thus restricting recreational use of the river, the state began negotiations to re-open the locks under state operation and ownership.
The Kentucky River Authority was created in 1986 specifically to receive that ownership, which was expected to take one year. The process of transferring to state ownership of locks and dams #5 through #14 was completed in 2006. The legislation creating the Kentucky River Authority had many strings attached to it and lay dormant for several years: no commissioners were appointed by the governor nor was there any meeting of the authority. In the meantime, 12 Kentucky cities that had placed their drinking water intakes in the Kentucky River pools since 1930 felt the pressure of the 1988 drought and took note of the aging state of the locks and dams, which the Corps was not inclined to repair.
The 1990 Kentucky legislature amended the legislation that had established the Kentucky River Authority to include water supply and water quality responsibility. The amendment also initiated a fee for taking water out of the Kentucky River, which was intended to fund repairs to the locks and dams and improve water quality.
The Governor appointed commissioners and the Kentucky River Authority met for a few years without staff or money. Its major accomplishment during these lean times in the mid-to-late 1990s was to badger the Corps into stabilizing the dams #4 - #14 (but not the locks). Most of the valves were installed in the upper dams during this stabilizing process.
After the Authority began to charge a withdrawal fee for water in accordance with its enabling legislation, it could then hire a staff and actually do something about these decaying structures. The Harza Report was updated, and the findings of this update were to raise locks and dams #9 through #14 up to four feet to make more (and cheaper) storage on the river. When the prospect first arose, individuals and special interest groups from Estill County to the West Coast began serving notice that they would seriously oppose any raising of the dams.
The most likely immediate candidate for stabilizing and raising was lock and dam #10 at Boonesborough. This dam is immediately upstream of the Kentucky American intake on Pool 9 and is the longest pool in the upper part of the river. After a more detailed study, it was determined that the dam and lock could be stabilized and raised four feet for about $24 million.
Congressional funding for this work was applied for and awarded through the Corps of Engineers. The Corps undertook more studies on stabilizing and raising Lock #10 and as of presstime, is still studying the issue. An interim report made by the Corps in 2005 indicated that a permanent raising of the lock would cost in excess of $40 million, but this could be reduced if movable crest gates, a controversial prospect with expensive maintenance, were used. The jury is still out on the matter.
In the meantime, the Kentucky River Authority has done extensive repair and stabilization work on many of the locks and dams, but very little has been accomplished to improve water supply beyond the installation of the release valves. This Authority has accepted bids for the reconstruction of Dam #9, which has far exceeded its expected lifetime. This reconstruction will add no new water or storage, but will secure the integrity of Pool #9. Dam #10 is in similar condition, but the schedule for its reconstruction (and possible raising) is less certain.
More storage or other techniques are still required to provide the additional water we need.
The Kentucky American Water Company
The wake-up call Mother Nature gave Lexington with the 1988 drought made the Kentucky American Water Company spring into action. The company could not add storage on the Kentucky River, but it did increase its pumping capacity at its river intake. The company knew this still would not solve the problem because the river at times was short of water, no matter how much pumping capacity they had. The Kentucky Public Service Commission knew this too and directed Kentucky American to come up with a solution.
In 1993 Kentucky American filed a request with the Public Service Commission for permission to construct a pipeline to Louisville, where, at that time, there was plenty of treated water for sale to Lexington. This certainly appeared to be the answer to the problem because the Ohio River, which is the source of Louisville water, is virtually inexhaustible. Lexington could buy treated water when needed and not buy it when not needed. The Public Service Commission expressed no opposition to the concept and Kentucky American proceeded to further develop the project.
This concept, however, did not sit well with everyone, including horse farmers in Woodford County. In addition, a self-appointed group going by the acronym of NOPE organized itself as opposition to the pipeline and told Lexingtonians we had no business drinking that filthy water out of the Ohio River. (They neglected to mention, however, that several million persons drink it every day.)
This battle was fought for about six years, then came to a moment of quiet, as will be mentioned later, and the Lexington water supply problem was as far from being solved as it was in 1988. Details on Kentucky American's more recent efforts will be included in the third installment of this series.
The Fayette County Water Supply Planning Council
During his first term in office, Governor Patton established a program whereby each county was to prepare a long-range water and sewer plan for its county. Most of the counties asked their respective Area Development District to prepare their plan, but Fayette County opted to prepare its own. Mayor Miller appointed sixteen members to this Council for Fayette County, including members of the Urban County Council, city employees, a Kentucky American representative, a NOPE representative, and private citizens who started meeting in July 1997.
The council reviewed vast amounts of data, and water experts were heard from as well as numerous special interest groups. Halfway through its appointed task, it became apparent the council was divided into two camps: those who supported a pipeline to Louisville (as proposed by Kentucky American) as the solution, and those who opposed it, saying our water problem could be solved with severe water-use restrictions during a drought (conservation).
The final vote by the Water Supply Council was in favor of the pipeline to Louisville. These results and the final report were presented to the Lexington Fayette Urban County Council, which soundly rejected it and asked that the Water Supply Council reconsider. The Water Supply Council refused to change its vote or its report, and had no further meetings. This naturally raised the ire of the Urban Council, but in the end, neither group had any authority or responsibility for water supply and their respective actions had no effect whatever on any potential solutions.
The Lexington Fayette Urban County Council
When the LFUCG Council rejected the report of the Water Supply Planning Council, it left the problem back at square one. The LFUCG Council requested the Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute (KWRRI), a research arm of the University of Kentucky staffed by professors and other water resources experts, to perform an independent, unbiased examination and come up with a solution. Kentucky American agreed to abide by the findings of the LFUCG Council.
In the fall of 1999, the council organized itself (less Mayor Miller) into a committee of the whole and heard much of what had been presented to the Water Supply Planning Council a few months earlier. Numerous solutions were presented by various individuals and groups, including the use of rain barrels for the household storage of water. The KWRRI professors and staff pondered what they heard, mixed this with their own knowledge, and delivered their solution: reject the pipeline to Louisville and use the Kentucky River as the sole water supplier. All that is needed to make the Kentucky River a confident supplier of water, they said, is to raise some of the locks and dams to provide additional storage, which could be done for a few million dollars per structure in a relatively short period of time. This became known as the "Kentucky River Solution."
Kentucky American had bound itself to accept the findings of the council, so from that point on, the Kentucky River Solution became the one they would espouse.
When this decision was reached, the council also requested the Kentucky River Authority to provide updates on the progress of raising the locks and dams. To date, none have been raised, and the estimated cost of raising a lock and dam is estimated at many millions of dollars per structure as compared to a few million dollars.
The solution to our water supply problem still lies in the future. In the next issue of Business Lexington, we will discuss the most recent efforts to keep water flowing smoothly in the Bluegrass, including the formation of the Bluegrass Water Supply Commission as a regionally based potential solution and the latest initiatives by Kentucky American Water Company.