Henderson Council approves $2.5M sewer rehabilitation application after 40 overflows reported

The Henderson City Council on Sept. 14 voted to submit an application to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund for a $2.5 million sewer rehabilitation project after staff reported 40 sanitary sewer overflows since February 2020.

City Manager Edward T. Blackmon told Council the overflows reflect system problems and said applying for the SRF funds could help eliminate them. City Engineer Clark Thomas said the collection‑system evaluation began in 2016 with contractor WK Dickson; the rehabilitation would be handled on a unit‑price basis and, if funded at 0% interest, would increase rates by about $1.52 per month. Thomas also outlined that Public Works staff continue to identify repair needs and that inflow and infiltration (I&I) remediation must continue to avoid possible state restrictions on issuing permits.

Council Member Jason Spriggs asked that staff explain any rate increase clearly to residents. Council Member Garry Daeke urged continued I&I work alongside the larger rehabilitation. With no further discussion, Council approved Resolution 20‑63 to submit the SRF application.

What this does and does not do: approval authorizes the city to apply for low‑interest funding but does not commit final borrowing or an exact rate change; if funds are awarded, the project and financing terms would be brought back for formal approval. Blackmon warned that continued overflows could lead the State to restrict the City’s ability to issue development permits.

Next steps: staff will file the SRF application and continue I&I investigations and unit‑price planning for construction estimates.