Boone County is advancing its rural water project, which aims to expand Boone County Water District access to several hundred homes throughout the county.
During the Oct. 11 Boone County Fiscal Court meeting, County Administrator Jeff Earlywine offered an update on the project. First, he said around 340 customers should see a $25 drop in their bill in November, as a surcharge that has been on bills for years is now coming off.
Eliminating the surcharge was proposed in April for water subdistricts A and B, but a review period was required for homes in some areas. That review period ended on Aug. 31, and Earlywine said bills reflect water use of the two previous months, making November the target month for customers seeing that surcharge eliminated.
For the water project at large, Earlywine said it focuses on three areas. Right now, two engineering firms are working on evaluating the target areas and creating plans that will be approved by the state and fiscal court.
Group A involves Woolper Road, which is “our primary line,” he said, and Schneider Lane. Group B is the entire Twin Lakes subdivision, and Group C is “the scattered streets” portion of the program, which includes 15 to 18 streets that are scattered about the county in multiple water districts.
He said he’s hopeful that the final design plans for Group B will be sent to the Kentucky Division of Water soon for review and approval. If that is returned quickly, Earlywine said Group B should be bid before the end of the year and Group A will follow. There is an item on the Oct. 25 fiscal court agenda for an amended scope of work under the rural water expansion program.
Group C is “about 60% complete,” in this phase of the project, he said. That will be the third of the three groups to come before the court for approval of a scope of work.
The only other issue facing the project at this stage is the availability of ductile iron pipe. Typically, the county would purchase the pipe through the federal Buy American program, but there is an estimated 18-month to 48-month waiting period for deliveries.
Boone County Judge Executive Gary Moore pointed out that if residents are to wait four years for the equipment to finish this project to be delivered, they would suffer the “inflated costs.” Earlywine said there are only a few weeks until expected delivery when buying the same equipment abroad.
