It wasn't an extraordinary amount of rain -- less than 4 inches spread over six days last December -- but it exposed one of Lexington's dirty little secrets.

By Dec. 13, the sixth day, city officials were reporting to the state that untreated sewage was overflowing from 46 manholes and 15 pump stations (also called lift stations) around town. The estimated total: More than 16 million gallons of sewage that found its way into yards, basements, streets and parks on its way to the county's creeks and streams.

At just one pump station on Bowman's Mill Road, in the southwest quadrant of the county where upscale neighborhoods such as Firebrook are found, nearly 6 million gallons of sewage flowed out and eventually found its way to South Elkhorn Creek.

Many manholes were spewing around Lexington Mall and down Tates Creek Road, where such problems are common.

Such sanitary sewage overflows were one of the main problems cited by the federal Environmental Protection Agency in November 2006 when it sued Lexington for allegedly violating the Clean Water Act. The negotiated settlement of that suit, called a consent decree, is expected to be signed and made public Tuesday.

The city probably will face many millions of dollars in required improvements and fines, and residents are likely to see much higher sewer bills. A proposal to double sewer fees over the next two years could get final approval Thursday.

Emma Tibbs, government affairs director for the Fayette County Neighborhood Council, said last week that she was surprised that so many gallons of sewage flowed out of the system before reaching a treatment plant during the December rainstorm.

"I can't believe we have this much considering we had a drought most of last year," Tibbs said, because dry ground can absorb more rainwater.

But Charles Martin, director of the city's Division of Water and Air Quality, said the ground was pretty saturated by those December rains. And when the ground is wet, he said, "any substantial rainy day" can overwhelm the sewer system.

That happens more often than you might think: The city has a list of 110 manholes and pump stations that overflow at least once a year.

"It's illegal, but we're almost desensitized to it," said Ken Cooke, a Lexington resident who recently retired from the state Division of Water.

Full Story: http://www.kentucky.com/454/story/321544.html 

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