Work to replace a water main on Fontaine Road in Lexington has been delayed after crews reportedly hit and damaged private sewer lines.
The road feeds into the Chevy Chase neighborhood, which borders the University of Kentucky and includes many businesses and restaurants.
Kentucky American Water has been working on a project to replace a water main under Fontaine since last year.
This week, neighbors raised concerns online that the damaged sewer lines may have allowed raw sewage to escape the system, uncontained.
Susan Lancho, a spokesperson for Kentucky American Water said late Tuesday, crews “became aware of some private sewer lines that were impacted by our project.”
Lancho said the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government advises the utility on how to handle repairs, but did not directly address if there have been any sewer leaks.
Lexington spokesperson Susan Straub said the city has not been notified of any leaks. It’s working with the utility and contractor crews on repairs.
“The city’s Division of Water Quality is coordinating corrective actions with Kentucky American,” Straub wrote in an email Wednesday. “Water Quality’s Compliance and Monitoring staff members are conducting water quality inspections in proximity of the Kentucky American work to determine if further remedial measures are needed.”
Kentucky American said it is assessing other lines that could have been damaged as a result of the project.
“In addition, out of an abundance of caution, we are proactively assessing the private sewer lines on remaining properties in the project area that had the potential of being impacted by our work. If we discover other lines needing repair, we will fix them,” Lancho said in a statement.
Lancho did not say when crews discovered the initial damage to private sewer lines or when those repairs took place. She also said additional private sewer line issues have since been detected and are being addressed.
In May, Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton said in a social media post she’s been “frustrated” by the project and asked Kentucky American Water to speed up the process.
“Like many of you, I’ve been frustrated by the utility work that has seemed to sit idle for months along High Street and Fontaine Road, leaving the roads in rough shape,” she said. “I’ve asked Kentucky American Water to ‘step on the gas’ so we can get these roads resurfaced as soon as possible.”
This is a developing report.
