New effort would fund partnership with Louisville Water, MSD, LG&E

Mayor Greg Fischer has proposed an ordinance to provide the Office of Resilience and Community Services (RCS) with an additional $10 million in the current fiscal year to help thousands of Louisville customers struggling to pay their utility bills because of a COVID-19 related financial hardship.

Louisville MSD has taken another step toward a regional approach for watershed protection.

The cool morning air was filled with excitement in a clearing near the intersection of Lexington Road and Grinstead Drive on the morning of September 22. After 21 months of carving its way through four miles and 625,000 tons of rock 18 stories underground, the Bumblebee machine had just thirty feet to go to complete the path of the Waterway Protection Tunnel under Louisville.

Interested in a career in the utilities sector? 

Then plan to attend the Utility Workforce Development – Sharpening Your Skills virtual event from 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 13. Participants will get an introduction to local utilities, learn of current and upcoming job opportunities, gain workforce readiness skills, and learn about available resources available from community partners.

MSD Executive Director Tony Parrott has been appointed by Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer to help lead a newly launched effort to close the city’s racial wealth gap. Parrott and LG&E and KU Energy Chief Executive Officer Paul Thompson are co-chairs of the Equity in Contracting and Procurement Task Force the mayor created Wednesday by executive order.

MSD Executive Director Tony Parrott is one of 13 returning members of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Environmental Financial Advisory Board (EFAB). Joining these returning members are the incumbent Chair and 19 newly appointed members.

Because of COVID-19, the 31st annual River Sweep scheduled for Sept. 12 has been canceled. Check back soon for information on how you can still organize and get support for small group cleanups.

Low-income households may qualify for a 10-percent sewer bill discount under a new Emergency Wastewater Rate Assistance Program (EWRAP) offered by MSD. Aimed at providing relief for households struggling financially during the coronavirus pandemic, the EWRAP discount is effective August 1, 2020. It will run through July 31, 2021.

EWRAP applicants must be Jefferson County residents who are named MSD customers receiving metered water service to a property used solely as a principal noncommercial residence and are not receiving the MSD Senior Citizen Discount.

National praise continues to roll in for Louisville MSD’s innovative Shawnee Park Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Basin project. The project, also known as the Southwestern Parkway CSO Basin, was named last week as one of twelve new “Infrastructure Gamechangers” by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

“These latest Infrastructure Gamechangers showcase innovative solutions to complex problems and demonstrate some of the ways civil engineers are thinking creatively to modernize our nation’s infrastructure,” said ASCE President K.N. Gunalan.