Sanitation District No. 1, also known as SD1, is upsizing sanitary sewer pipe near the Bentwood Hills Condominiums along Three-Mile Road in Wilder to address sanitary sewer overflows in the area.
The “Licking River Siphon Project” project is part of SD1’s Clean H2040 program, an effort to eliminate capacity-related sewer overflows by 2040.
The project will increase the size of the existing sewer pipe in the area from 24 to 48 inches and move the pipe away from the creek bank. This work will eliminate sewer overflows and improve water quality in Three Mile Creek.
A sewer overflow occurs when the wastewater leaves the sewer system before reaching the treatment plant. Overflow is typically caused by excessive rain that overwhelms the system.
According to SD1, 1.5 billion gallons of combined system overflow are experienced in Northern Kentucky yearly, and 115 million gallons of sanitary sewer overflow are experienced annually.
The project will connect with a 7-million-gallon equalization tank built in Wilder at Fredricks Landing near the Licking River last year to eliminate about 47 million gallons of sanitary sewer overflows. The tank, similar to tanks SD1 has built along Route 8 in Silver Grove, uses sewer management to hold system flow during wet-weather events and then slowly releases the flow back into the system once a storm passes. This prevents the public sewer system from being overwhelmed.
SD1 Project Manager David Gilligan said the project had presented some obstacles.
“This project was challenging to plan and schedule because the current and proposed new sewer alignment are located within existing conservation easements,” Gilligan said. “Additional hurdles included a lengthy approval process with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of the Interior to meet demanding environmental requirements.”
Because of the impacts within the conservation easements, SD1 is approaching the project looking to improve the conservation area. The district has agreed with the Northern Kentucky University Research Foundation and the Homeowners Associations of Bentwood and Woodland Hills Condominiums on mitigation strategies to improve the site.
Some of those strategies include creek bank and channel stabilization, native meadow seeding, reforestation with trees and shrubs, grading for a new walking path, and removing invasive species.
SD1 will also monitor and maintain the conservation easements for five years after the completion of the project.
“This is an unprecedented agreement that is a win-win for all parties involved,” Gilligan said. “SD1 is committed to engaging stakeholders across our region to understand the needs of our community. Our goal is exactly what we will achieve with this project – to accomplish our mission and benefit the community we serve.”
The Licking River Siphon pipe upsizing project began in March and is expected to last through the summer.
