Water

The Boil Water Advisory for City of Harrodsburg water customers was lifted as of 8:40 p.m. last night (Thursday). However North Mercer water customers are still under a boil water advisory until further notice. That notice will be until at least Saturday for North Mercer has to start its water sampling.

RICHMOND — There will be an artists’ reception for “Shaped by Water” from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at Gallery on Main, 128 W. Main St., Richmond (located inside Community Trust Bank). The theme, water, focuses on water drops, rivers, streams, lakes, swimming and fishing — abstract and realistic. The artists’ reception is free and open to the public. Gallery on Main is a non-profit organization supporting artists in Kentucky.

Come on, Kentucky — Georgia and Alabama are leaving us in the dust. Yes, it’s just a friendly competition, but we need all the help we can get to prove Kentucky cares about the environment. Help the commonwealth win the water conservation challenge by participating. Here’s how you can save 40 gallons of water a day for your county and Kentucky Pledge now. Across the southern United States, individuals are taking the 40 Gallon Challenge. The 40 Gallon Challenge is a regional campaign that challenges residents to conserve at least 40 gallons of water per day. Currently, Kentucky only has two pledges, on par with Virginia and Mississippi, and well below some of the high-pledging states.

HARRODSBURG - A boil-water advisory for the city of Harrodsburg was lifted Friday afternoon and all remaining Mercer County advisories were lifted by Saturday afternoon. Harrodsburg Water Treatment Plant Supervisor Walter Bottoms said no further water projects requiring advisories are planned at this time.

An autistic man who wandered away from his residential care residence Wednesday was lucky Danville Police talked him out of a morning swim and into being transported to Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center, where he was later released. Police were dispatched to Madison Avenue just before 9 a.m. where a man under the care of Homeplace Support Services was reported to have walked away. The employee on duty could not leave the other resident at the address, so police assisted. The man had disrobed and was in standing water described in a press release as “a creek/retention basin.” The release also said an officer was prepared to go in after the man who instead came out of the water and was transported to the hospital.

George Rogers Clark junior Josh Webb, left, takes a water break during a practice session earlier this week. The football Cardinals are in the midst of two-a-day workouts, which conclude on Aug. 5. Clark opens the season on Aug. 30 in the Recreation Bowl against Montgomery County in Mount Sterling.

STANFORD - After five breaks in the same water main over the course of about a week, Stanford City Council voted Tuesday night to adopt an emergency resolution and replace the aging main. Mayor Bill Miracle said the line in question runs along Main Street from about the intersection with Somerset Road to the intersection where Ky. 78 splits off toward Hustonville. Three breaks occurred due to heat that the old line could not withstand, and two more happened after state road crews began milling Main Street in preparation for new pavement, Miracle said.

The Winchester Country Club swimming team is winding down its regular season. The Dolphins close out the regular season against Andover Wednesday in Winchester. Maddie Barrett, above, and Callie Snowden, left, swam in their respective categories during the team's last meet earlier this week. The Central Kentucky Swim Conference meet is set for July 13-16 at Spindletop in Lexington.

Swimmers from West Jessamine High School overcame their 32nd seed to place in the top-30 during the weekend's KHSAA state swim meet held at the University of Louisville's Ralph G. Wright Natatorium. Juniors Wyatt Lamb and Stephan Stryker, sophomore Austin Pasch and freshman Michael Peck finished 28th in the Boys 400 Yard Freestyle Relay that concluded Saturday, shaving 2.6 second off their time from the regional tournament to earn a 3:41.86. Pasch was the Colts' frontrunner with total time of 53.39, followed by Stryker at 59.18.

The Nicholasville Water Treatment Plant and Wastewater Treatment Plant are once again being recognized for their work as some of the top treatment facilities in the state. Kentucky's department for environmental protection division of water has named the Nicholasville Water Treatment Plant a Totally Optimized Plant for the year 2012. The award states that the plant met goals for both settled and filtered water and is considered a totally optimized plant for turbidity and microbial removal.

The boil water advisory for Parksville Water District customers has been lifted as of 3 p.m. Wednesday afteroon.

The McDowell Wellness Center, McDowell Regional Medical Center, and some doctors, have started a program at the wellness center to help children in the second grade learn about water safety. The cost is only a dollar for one hour for five days. The instructor is a certified Red Cross swim instructor named Judy.  The class that I have been watching is from Woodlawn Elementary School. These children are so excited to be there. The teachers and parents of these children can be proud of how well the children behave and listen to Judy as she tells and shows them how to be safe around and in the water.  The class is about 23 children, and Judy has each one's captivated attention.

HUSTONVILLE - Mayor David Peyton primed the pump for a significant increase in water rates Tuesday night, hinting that keeping the city's water department afloat is key to the very survival of the small Lincoln County town. City Council did not vote on a rate increase for its 1,860 water customers, but discussion of the idea took up the bulk of Tuesday's meeting. Peyton said afterward that he plans to propose a rate hike around 20 percent at next month's meeting and wanted council members and residents to have a chance to think about it before a vote is called.

Residents of Perryville soon could see construction on a portion of South Buell Street, also known as Merchant's Row, beginning with the Opera House and traveling 292 feet.  Main Street Perryville Director Vicki Goode announced to the council during Thursday's meeting that members of the organization had taken photographs and submitted them to Sen. Tom Buford, R-Nicholasville, and Rep. Mike Harmon, R-Danville, who had helped them contact the proper...

HUSTONVILLE - About 15 years after the EPA first designated western Lincoln County an "impaired watershed," officials hope they're close to funding the first step of a solution to the severe water quality issues that have plagued the Dix River area. "The majority of the problem is human waste that's in our creeks," Hustonville Mayor David Peyton said at a city council meeting in March. "Just downstream from Hustonville, the count is almost the same as the sewer pipes going into the Danville water treatment plant.

Danville officials anticipate the water plant expansion project will be available for contractors to bid upon by early July. Brent Tippey of HDR ­ - the firm managing the $28 million project - gave a funding update at Monday's City Commission meeting. “We do have some developments … which are generally good,” Tippey said regarding the city's previous request for $15 million of Rural Development grants and loans from the federal government. “That entire amount has been approved.” However, federal authorities have not issued a formal letter stating how much of those funds are grants and how much are loans; until that happens, officials cannot advertise the project for bidding.

STANFORD - Stanford City Council members voted 5-0 Tuesday evening to move forward with a plan to increase water rates by 22 percent and sewer rates by 4 percent. If approved on a second reading, Stanford residents would see their minimum monthly water bills rise from $10.03 to $12.24 and their sewer bills go from $10.05 to $10.45 - a total minimum increase of $2.61 per month. The increases were made necessary in large part because of the waterline upgrade project in the works along Danville Avenue, Stanford Water Commission Chairman Jack Withrow said.

For some St. Agatha Academy students, a visit to a mock United Nations has turned into an opportunity to make a real difference to the world. “We just thought we could participate in a mock UN assembly and talk about problems in the world, and we left with a way to make a real difference,” St. Agatha teacher Wendy Berryman said. Last month, students from the school attended the YMCA's Kentucky United Nations Assembly (KUNA), an event conducted yearly to allow students to participate in a simulated international diplomatic three-day conference.