Hardin County Water District No. 1 details expansion, grant spending and infrastructure repairs

Justin Metz, general manager of Hardin County Water District No. 1, told the Hardin County Fiscal Court that the district used federal and state grant funds to expand mains, shore up treatment capacity and repair damaged sewer lift stations.

Metz said the fiscal court awarded the district $5,550,000 in ARPA funds; the district has spent about $4,100,000 of that money and about $1,320,000 of cleaner-water grant funds from the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority (KIA). "We utilize 4,100,000.0 of the ARPA grant dollars already," he said.

The grants helped fund a Phase 1 rural main extension that cost $1,930,000, $1,800,000 of which came from county ARPA funds. That project installed about 35,500 feet of new mains on Greg Smallwood Road, Constantine Road, Needham and Laurel Ridge Road, Metz said. The lines serve 42 existing residences; 12 taps have been installed so far. Metz noted the per-customer capital cost is high for sparsely populated roads and said such projects would be nearly impossible without grant funding.

The district has 305 miles of water main and is currently installing about 38,000 additional feet through Phase 2 work, Metz said; once finished, roughly 10 miles of public roads in the district’s service territory will remain without mains. "That's right around 97% of our service territory is served with public water," he said. Metz said contractors were on site and a small number of taps are already active on the new Phase 2 lines.

Metz gave a breakdown of systems and customers: the county water system serves about 11,300 active customers; the district wholesales water to Meade County Water District and the city of Vine Grove; combined service totals roughly 20,071 residents for the county system. The Fort Knox system covers a variable population (summer cadet training raises the population) and the district reads only 66 meters there. On the sewer side, Metz said Radcliff and West Point systems are treated in the same fund but operate independently; Radcliff has about 9,064 customers and West Point 380.

On staffing and certifications, Metz said 44 of 71 employees are certified in treatment or distribution (62%). The district added certified staff in several classes in the past year.

Metz described capital and rehabilitation projects funded in part with grant money: a new fourth filter at the plant, raw-water pump station completions and a booster station. The improvements produced an 18% increase in treated water production in 2024 compared with the prior year, he said.

Metering and technology improvements are underway. The district is installing cellular endpoints and fixed-base meter reading infrastructure; coverage is at about 87% now (up from 73% a year earlier) and Metz said he expected to reach roughly 97% shortly after the court meeting once shipments arrive.

On West Point infrastructure, Metz said the district took ownership in late 2023, replaced meters (more than $100,000 investment) and spent about $140,000 in 2024 on sewer improvements. Crews repaired a failed force main and returned a boat-dock lift station to service after a separation. The district performed CCTV inspection and jet cleaning of the West Point gravity collection system and made other repairs in-house.

Planned and ongoing sewer projects include a Marvin's Lift Station renovation (double pump capacity and deepen the wet well to reduce overflows) and consolidation of Beverly's Mobile Home Park lift station into a nearby industrial lift station (estimated cost $800,000; $630,000 KIA funds committed). Both projects were expected to be bid in April and start construction in June, with 3–6 month buildouts depending on pump lead times.

Metz also described storm-related damage at the Boom Trace lift station near East Lincoln Trail in Radcliff, where heavy rain submerged electrical infrastructure and left the station operating on a temporary diesel bypass pump. He said a district electrician is building a temporary electrical panel to restore one or two pumps and that a generator on site was likely a total loss.

At the Radcliff wastewater treatment plant, the district plans to upgrade a 12-inch force main to 18 inches to increase conveyance and reduce overflows; Metz said the work will increase capacity about 12% and will be funded in part by ARPA dollars the court previously awarded. He also described a plan to retrofit an abandoned tank into a gravity thickener to reduce sludge hauling; the retrofit is expected to cut sludge hauling by about 50% (roughly 1,000 tons per year) and was estimated at $250,000 with $125,000 in ARPA funding already awarded.

Metz closed with a note on awards and outreach: Fort Knox and Radcliff plants earned operational-excellence awards, plant and collection teams won regional honors, and the Pirtle Springs plant won a best-tasting-water award at a Kentucky conference. He invited questions from the court; several magistrates and the judge praised the district’s staff and use of grant funds.

Metz's presentation included project maps and budgets; he said the district comprises five enterprise funds and consolidated 2025 revenue projections exceed $22 million, with the county-water fund representing about 40% of revenues.

Ending: Metz offered to answer follow-up questions and the court moved on to subsequent agenda items.