A heavy downpour or consistent rains day after day can both challenge sewer systems. Parts of Kentucky are seeing that this week. Lexington is in the midst of a massive and federally mandated sewer improvement program. Years ago it was not uncommon for many sewer manholes around town to overflow. Lexington Division of Water Quality Director Charlie Martin said gains are being made in reducing sewage overflows.
“We’re making I think measurable progress because before, like I say, every time it would rain like this, alarms all over town would go off, and now, instead, it’s narrowed down to a select few,” said Martin.
Those alarms are positioned at manhole covers to alert Martin’s staff when waters rise to the point of overflowing. The Division of Water director says since 2015 about half of the problematic manholes have been addressed.
Martin said substantial rainfall over a period of days can lead to sewage overflows at manhole covers. Martin noted sanitary sewer improvements have helped to address those issues.
“The storage tanks, the bigger pump stations, the bigger pipelines that people have seen over the last ten years, those things are now conveying flow to either the storage tanks or to the treatment plants instead of overflowing out of manholes and going into streams untreated,” said Martin.
The current schedule has the city concluding its sewer improvements by the end of 2026.
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