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On Aug. 18, the Mt. Vernon community celebrated the completion of a sewer project that will help protect Lake Linville. The lake supplies the drinking water for 23,000 people, serving all of Rockcastle County and portions of five neighboring counties.
A new sewer line was installed along Lake Linville Road to serve 35 homes, which had failing or no septic systems, a restaurant and the VFW Club. The sewer line also connected to the campground and city park at Lake Linville. As a result, a sewage dumping station has been added to the RV parking lot and restrooms soon will be installed at the park.
Mayor Clarice R. Kirby hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Lake Linville Park. The featured speaker was Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, who secured the federal funding for the $755,000 sewer project through the PRIDE program.
“This is one of my happiest moments since becoming mayor,” Kirby said. “Our community has wanted this sewer line since the lake was built back in 1969. A few years ago, the project moved to the front burner when the lake had an outbreak of blue-green algae, and untreated sewage fed the problem. I want to thank Congressman Rogers and PRIDE for helping us take care of Lake Linville.”
“I commend Mayor Kirby and the city council for taking this project from the drawing board to reality,” Rogers said. “I have made wastewater treatment a priority in my district because it is critical to public health, the environment, tourism and business recruitment. This project drives home those points because untreated sewage had been entering the city’s drinking water supply, which is also an important recreation site.”
“I also want to thank the homeowners for their support of this project,” Rogers added. “By signing up for sewer service, they are taking personal responsibility for the environment, and that’s what PRIDE is all about.”
Other participants in the ribbon-cutting ceremony included Karen Engle, the president and chief executive officer of PRIDE; Tim Akins, the contractor who installed the sewer line; project engineers Vernon Shanklin and Kevin Porter; and Mike Patrick and Tim Schwendeman of the Cumberland Valley Area Development District.
The City of Mt. Vernon paid for the sewer project with a $755,000 PRIDE Wastewater Construction Grant. Through this and other PRIDE-related funding, more than 28,000 homes have gained access to septic systems or sewer service since 1997.
PRIDE is a nonprofit organization founded by Congressman Rogers and former Kentucky Environmental Protection Secretary James Bickford in 1997 to encourage and assist communities in 38 counties of southern and eastern Kentucky to improve water quality, clean up solid waste problems, and promote environmental education. PRIDE is funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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