By Brenna Angel
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wuky/local-wuky-897038.mp3
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- – Nearly four years after the EPA served the city of Lexington with a lawsuit for violating the Clean Water Act, city officials say storm water and sanitary sewer systems are on the right track.
A $2.1 million project near the Pine Meadows neighborhood is one example of several improvements underway.
For years, area residents dealt with flooding every time there was a major storm. The problem? Culverts were too small to handle the influx of water.
Charlie Martin, Director of the Lexington Division of Water Quality, says the Vaughn's Branch Mitigation Project will fix that.
"Rather than simply moving it downstream and having it flood someone else, we're constructing this basin which will capture that surge of water and store it in such a way that will slowly release it downstream and not harm downstream properties."
Much of the funding for the Vaughn's Branch project came from FEMA. Martin says his office looks for a variety of sources to help pay for upgrades to pump stations and water treatment plants. Funding also comes from dedicated Lexington water fees.
Martin says it will take another decade to complete all the necessary storm water and sanitary sewer projects around Lexington.