Sewer Upgrade will be Costly

An Urban County Council panel has been told that those EPA-mandated improvements to the city's sewer system will result in a doubling, or even tripling of customer sewer bills over the next decade. The Lexington Herald Leader reports that estimates range anywhere from $540 million to $814 million to fix the city's overwhelmed storm-water and sewer systems.

According to preliminary data submitted to the Urban County Council's Environmental Quality Committee, the average household would pay between $21 and $42 more each month for sanitary sewer service. The increases would be phased in over a decade.