The McLean County Regional Water Commission (MCRWC) was presented the 2015 Spirit of Kentucky Award by Governor Steve Beshear and Department for Local Government (DLG) Commissioner Tony Wilder for the McLean County Regional Water Treatment Plant at the 40th Annual Governor’s Local Issues Conference held Thursday, August 27, 2015, at the Galt House in Louisville, Kentucky.
The Spirit of Kentucky Award is given annually to sponsors of a public project which demonstrates cost effective coordination of government resources among multiple government groups. The McLean County Regional Water Commission, created in 2012, includes the cities of Calhoun, Island, Livermore and Sacramento, Kentucky, along with the North McLean County Water District and the McLean County Fiscal Court.
With a goal of regionalizing the area’s water operations, the commission worked together to plan and secure funding for a new 2 mgd conventional water treatment plant. Recently bid and awaiting start of construction, the project, designed by Bell Engineering, also includes upgrades to the existing raw water intake and raw water pump station at Calhoun, new transmission mains to serve Sacramento and Livermore, and a new booster pumping station to serve the region.
Bell Engineering worked with the MCRWC and determined that a regional facility would be the most effective and efficient way to provide reliable and affordable water treatment and distribution to the area. Bell’s assistance, along with the cooperation of the local city and county governments, the local water district and state leadership, led to the project being awarded a $1,000,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), a $2,500,000 KIA loan, and $7,416,000 USDA Rural Development (RD) grant and loan.