The Henderson Fiscal Court approved $1 million funding to assist with the Henderson Water Utility’s South Water Raw Intake Project which will include installing a pipeline and an intake structure to pump water from the Green River to the plant.
The project is estimated to cost $8.5 million.
So far, HWU has received $1 million funding from a federal government allocation and $1 million from a state government allocation for the project, and the water utility says that it has also applied for grant funding.
If HWU has to fund portions of the project, rate increases could go to the Tyson plant, the Henderson County Water District, the City of Sebree and the City of Beech Grove, all of which are served by the South Water Treatment Plant.
The project includes three phases. The first phase includes installing about 3,000 feet of pipeline from the Green River to the South Water Treatment plant. It is estimated to cost $3 million.
A second phase involves installation of power infrastructure—a power line—to provide energy to the machinery. That will cost an estimated $500,000.
The third phase is to build a new intake structure on the Green River. This will pump the source water from the Green River to the plant. This comes with an estimated price of $5 million.
At Tuesday’s fiscal court meeting, HWU General Manager Bart Boles said that HWU had in the past got water from a pump at the Big Rivers Power Plant Intake. But that pump failed in 2022, and with Big Rivers not needing the water anymore from it, the company didn’t make repairs, which left HWU using a temporary pump system that the utility built on a barge in the Green River, Boles said.
Boles said the system needs to be replaced, and one reason is that the current temporary water intake probably won’t attract potential industry to a one million square foot build-ready pad at the nearby 4 Star Industrial Park. Potential industry officials check the park once or twice a month, Boles said.
Boles added that the South Water Treatment plant supplies water to Tyson, which employs 1,400 workers, and nearby towns Sebree and Beech Grove. Boles said the South Water Treatment Plant supplies water to 13,000-14,000 residential customers. There are also farmers that depend on the water, he said.
“The region depends on this,” Boles said. “It’s very important we get this done.”
The HWU intake structure has been designed to be built at the old Big Rivers intake in an intake cell that the company no longer uses, Boles said.
HWU has applied for a $4 million grant from the Economic Development Authority, a $600,000 state matching GRANT for the EDA grant, a $1 million Delta Regional Authority grant and a $1 million Kentucky USDA grant.
“It’s a have-to type of situation,” said Magistrate Taylor Tompkins, adding that the project is needed to maintain current levels of service while also attracting new industry to the 4 Star Industrial Park. “This is a necessity. Either you’re growing or you’re rotting.”
The vote was unanimous approving the county’s $1 million funding.
