The city of Lexington is in the midst of a major sewer overhaul, as mandated by the federal government. Lexington residents have been helping to cover the cost of the large project through sanitary sewer user fees. That’s likely to continue for years to come.
The total capital construction cost for the sewer improvement program is close to $600 million. Last week, the city council’s Environmental Quality and Public Works Committee got a briefing on financing for all the pipe work. Currently, the citywide project is paid for by sewer user fees and borrowing. Vice Mayor Steve Kay asked Finance Commissioner Bill O’mara about that break down. “How long will we be paying for the debt that we’re now incurring and what is the cost of that compared to what the cost would be for the entire project if we were to raise rates sooner and do less borrowing?” asked Kay.
O’mara told Kay and committee members that council could always opt to change the mix of financing. All the work, under the federal consent decree must be done by the end of 2026. O’mara said sewer user fees will still be necessary to fund ongoing operations, maintenance, and repairs to the system.
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