Funding to Increase Water Storage Capacity and Improve Distribution System
FRANKFORT, KY (August 23, 2022) — Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, and State Representative Phillip Pratt, R-Georgetown, presented a $5 million ceremonial check to the Georgetown Municipal Water and Sewer Services (GMWSS) Tuesday morning representing investments made by the Kentucky General Assembly. The funding will support a project identified in the GMWSS five-year Capital Improvements Program.
Thayer and Pratt championed including these funds in the General Assembly’s 2022 biennial budget. Chase Azevedo, GMWSS general manager, expressed excitement for the legislature’s commitment to improving and broadening water services for GMWSS customers.
“We are excited to begin work on the Payne’s Depot Water Storage Tank and Distribution System Upgrades that will improve domestic water service across south Georgetown and Scott County,” Azevedo said. “The project will provide for increased system pressure for both domestic service and fire protection within the project service area, as well as increase drinking water storage available for daily consumption by current GMWSS customers.”
Azevedo says GMWSS anticipates that more than 1,700 customers will experience an increased level of services as a result of this project.
GMWSS is a water provider for Georgetown and parts of Sadieville and Stamping Ground. It has a customer base of over 15,000 with approximately 420 miles of water mains. GMWSS’s water treatment facility can treat up to 4 million gallons per day.
Georgetown and Scott County are among Kentucky’s fastest-growing cities and counties. Azevedo, fellow county leaders and General Assembly delegates like Thayer and Pratt are confronted with the need to increase and improve local water supply to meet current customer demand and plan for future demand resulting from continued residential, commercial and industrial growth the community has embraced.
Azevedo told the Georgetown News Graphic in February that the demand for water in Georgetown and Scott County currently exceeds the existing water supply capacity, and the county does not have sufficient water storage. According to the report from the News-Graphic, the Kentucky Division of Water requires minimum storage capacity in the distribution system to be equal to the average daily consumption. GMWSS currently has an average daily consumption of 4.2 million gallons but only 2.55 million gallons of water storage, a deficiency of 1.65 million gallons.
GMWSS is governed by a five-member board of commissioners appointed by the Georgetown mayor. The board meets on the third Tuesday of each month, and the public is welcome to attend the meetings.
The News-Graphic reported in May that Mayor Tom Prather and the Georgetown City Council, along with GMWSS, approved a resolution thanking Thayer for his help securing critical funding benefiting Georgetown.
“Sen. Thayer deserves our thanks,” Prather said. “He really came through for us.”