Despite the recent cold snap, Spring is right around the corner and that means parts of the Commonwealth could see more flooding. Governor Beshear has been handing out funds to communities across Kentucky to improve water infrastructure. He said this should help in the long run.
“We have some new grants that aim to help prevent flooding but a lot of that requires planning and even some long-term change in either where things are or how they are built. Even working in these water/sewer grants, when you increase capacity in storm water sewers then hopefully, we won’t see things like Beattyville underwater again.”
Beshear added there are ways to use all the water Kentucky gets.
“It’s going to take some time, but we are critically focused on it. In Kentucky, we flood 52 weeks a year. Now we’re also trying to take negative and turn it into a positive. Water is drying up in other places in the United States, so that gives us a chance with places like Appharvest and other agriculture operations to bring in new jobs and investments.”
In 2019 the American Society of Civil Engineers projected that Kentucky faces nearly $14.5 billion dollars in water/wastewater infrastructure needs and over $8.2 billion dollars in drinking water upgrades and $6.2 billion dollars in sewer system improvements over the next 20 years.
