Work is now in progress on a project that will take trucks hauling leachate off the highway and save money for the Maysville-Mason County Landfill operation in the process.

Landfill Manager Todd Leonard said a recent construction update revealed that 10 percent of the project to extend sewer lines from the landfill to tie in with Maysville’s sewer system is completed. With a 180-day construction window, he said the project could be done by mid-September, “barring any weather delays.”

Officials began talking in earnest about connecting the landfill with the city sewage system about three years ago as a better method of disposing of landfill leachate, Leonard said. The connection will make disposing of the material landfill easier and extend the life of the landfill, he said.

Leonard said it is a “long-term solution to leachate disposal.” At the present time, trucks haul leachate from the landfill by truck and dispose of it into the city’s wastewater treatment facility. As many as anywhere from two to 10 loads of leachate are hauled to the plant each day, Leonard said, depending on the weather, at an annual cost of about $180,000.

Even with a price tag approaching $2 million, the line will mean savings, he said, as bond repayment will be less than the costs of hauling the leachart, Leonard said. In addition, trucks now used to haul leachate can be converted to serve as collection trucks, he said.

At its February meeting, city commission awarded a bid for the project to Tribute Contracting and Consultants for $1.45 million. Bonding for $1.8 million for the project was approved earlier this year with the sale of the bonds to USDA, according to Maysville City Manager Matt Wallingford. That total includes engineering fees and other costs in addition to construction, he said.

Currently, several manholes have been installed and gravity lines and main force lines are being placed, Leonard said. The majority of road bore needed for the project have been completed, he said.

The line extension will run from the 544 acre landfill on Clarkson-Sherman Road, across a small section of private property to the AA Highway and cut acrossed Strodes Run Road, Leonard said. It will then come across Kentucky 11 and tie into the city’s last manhole on Lawrence Creek, he said.

In addition to providing an outlet for the leachate disposal, the extension will also help with the next phase of development at the landfill and give sewer access to Industrial Park IV, Leonard said.

William Kirby of Richmond checks the depth of this trench at the Mason County Landfill Thursday where a new sewer project is underway.
https://maysville-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/web1_sewer.jpgWilliam Kirby of Richmond checks the depth of this trench at the Mason County Landfill Thursday where a new sewer project is underway.

By Mary Ann Kearns