New Louisville Water partnership to bring $29 million infrastructure investment to Nelson County

BARDSTOWN, Ky. (WDRB) -- It's the kind of partnership that could help fuel the city of Bardstown's next big growth spurt.

Wednesday, Louisville Water joined forces with local leaders to turn on the tap for future economic expansion.

The water company announced a major collaboration with the City of Bardstown and the North Nelson Water District.

The partnership is part of a $29 million investment in infrastructure to boost water access along the Interstate 65 corridor.

"This project is a game-changer for Nelson County," Timothy Hutchins, Nelson County judge executive, said in a news release. "We believe that infrastructure is critical to continued economic growth. This project will be impactful for generations to come."

The project includes the construction of a 42-inch water main along the corridor, and another 24-inch main along Highway 245.

That main will connect the North Nelson Water District to Louisville Water's supply.

The project comes at no extra cost to Louisville customers.

"That $29 million, the way we work it out is we get a return from that because of minimum purchase requirements, right? So it's (partly) built into our capital program," Spencer Bruce, president and CEO of Louisville Water, said. "And it obviously has to come out of our capital program, but we built that in and we can manage that with our existing work that we do."

Officials said the project is a model of how water can help grow Kentucky's economy one drop at a time.

"Bardstown is the home of many distilleries, manufacturers, farms and more," Bardstown Mayor Dick Heaton said in a news release. "Because of this partnership, members of our business community will have the water they need for the foreseeable future."

Construction has already started on the project, which is expected to be finished by the end of next year.

To learn more about the project, click here.

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