On Monday, Governor Andy Beshear awarded more than 2.5 million dollars to one city and six utilities for 10 projects in Floyd, Magoffin and Johnson counties.

The funding, from Better Kentucky Plan’s 250 million Cleaner water program, will deliver clean drinking water and improved sewer and water systems.

State officials estimate that the program will create approximately 3,800 jobs across the commonwealth.

Awards were presented to the Wheelwright Utilities Commission, the City of Martin, Southern Water and Sewer District, Prestonsburg City Utilities, Paintsville Utilities Commission, Salyersville Water Works and the Magoffin County Water District.

One award in Floyd County will provide 174,000 to the City of Martin to connect the cities and Southern Water Sewer District’s water lines near ARH Our Lady of the way Hospital. This connection will provide an emergency backup water supply if the city of Prestonsburg’s supply is cut off in a crisis.

The Paintsville Utilities Commission will receive $814,877 to replace approximately 4,000 feet of water main between the Turner Branch tank and US 23/KY 201 in Johnson County, and to construct a new above-ground 400 gallon-per-minute booster pump station at Sugar Grove. The improvements will significantly reduce pump run times, increase suction pressures at the pump station and booster system pressures along U.S. Highway 23 North to the Lindy Branch Pump Station, which serves the entire northern portion of Johnson County.

In Magoffin County, $311,625 has been awarded to the Magoffin County Water District to extend a water line to approximately 65 households currently without water service.

A total of $37 million has been awarded to grantees to fund transformative projects since the call for projects was announced June 1. Eligible government agencies, such as city-owned water or sewer utilities, water commissions, water and sewer districts and counties, collaborated with their local Area Development Districts (ADD) and Area Water Management Councils to submit projects for Cleaner Water Program funding. There are 713 public drinking water and wastewater utilities in Kentucky.

Cleaner Water program funding is allocated in three ways:

• $150 million based on each county’s proportion of the state’s population, with the exception of Jefferson County’s share, which is discounted by 50% based on its high per capita allocation from the federal act.
• $50 million is available for utilities to provide drinking water services to unserved, rural customers or to utilities under a federal consent decree. The KIA shall consider social, economic and environmental benefits in determining the allocations.
• $49.9 million is available to supplement a project grant for a project with a cost in excess of a county’s allocation amount and other available grant sources. The social, economic and environmental benefits shall be considered in determining project allocations.