HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – Hopkinsville Water Environment Authority is pursuing a large state loan to fund extensive sewer rehabilitation projects in the hopes of mitigating flooding issues and upgrading systems in the city.
Each year, HWEA submits several water and sewer projects to the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority (KIA) in order to acquire necessary funding through a low interest loan or a grant. This year, HWEA requires authorization from the Hopkinsville City Council in order to apply for a $7 million loan, which includes $1.6 million in loan forgiveness. No funding will be provided by the city.
Trey Pollock spoke on behalf of HWEA during the Sept. 18 Hopkinsville Committee of the Whole meeting, sharing that their proposed projects are prioritized by how they relate to their mission critical infrastructure, environmental compliance, and if they include incidents of property damage or nuisance sanitary sewer overflows.
Priority one areas include Stone Valley, Foston Chapel, and Michael Avenue where they hope to invest in a $5 million upgrade and rehabilitation of three existing sewage pump stations to perform life cycle replacements and alleviate sanitary sewer overflow (SSO). This is a condition where untreated sewage is overflowed into the area.
Their priority two focus includes the siphon at River Crossing on East 21st Street, where they plan to replace and upgrade the existing sanitary sewer siphon to reduce capacity, management, operation, and maintenance problems and perform life cycle replacements.
Aiding in sewer overflow flooding issues for residents
$1 million will be allocated to the area of Michael Avenue where they hope to relocate, expand, and upgrade the existing sewer to alleviate sanitary sewer overflow in the sewer basin on Circle Drive. Another $1 million sewer upgrade would also take place on Windsor Drive, which has had SSO issues in the past.
“This portion of our system is greatly impacted specifically during wet weather events,” said Pollock. “There are two property owners specifically that we know of that are unable to use their sewage facilities during these wet weather events because of the capacity issues within our sewer system. So, we are looking at upgrading capacities to better treat this flow and better serve our customers.”
Pollock shared a few photos from the April 2025 flood which shows residences on Windsor Drive and Circle Drive who experienced significant sanitary sewer overflow during this time due to lack of capacity in sewer systems. Both of these projects are listed as priority four and five.
Councilmember Chuck Crabtree expressed gratitude for the proposed projects saying, “I know there’s a lot of things that need to be done in the community, and I’m glad to see you all are really getting this going and getting it done.”
The loan application request will now move from the committee of the whole to the city council for approval via a municipal order at the next meeting on Oct. 7.
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