Paducah Water is planning to construct a nearly two-mile water main beginning this summer from its plant on North Eighth Street to Kentucky Avenue. The project is the largest that the downtown area has seen since 1984, says Paducah Water General Manager Bill Robertson.
“The project is titled 24 inch redundant main and it's about 2 miles of 24-inch ductile iron pipe. Our population has shifted out of the central part of the city to the outskirts, be it Reidland, Lone Oak, West End...we have to get water out to them,” says Robertson.
Robertson says the new main will increase capacity in moving water as well as serve as a redundancy to an older, 30-inch transmission main that runs the same direction. The project is expected to take about six months to install and cost between $4 and $5 million dollars.
The project is part of the plant’s capital improvement plan and will not cause an increase in rates to customers according to Robertson.
Paducah Water will start taking bids early this summer with construction efforts to begin between 30 and 60 days after approval.
Paducah Water is working to implement other projects as well, like examining options for a new filtration system as well as building a new water tank in the Hendron area.