Council to review relocation options for leaking Mint Lane pump station

During its April 14th Work Session, Urban County Councilmembers will review a study assessing options for relocating the Mint Lane pump station, including one alternative that would place it outside of Lexington’s Urban Service Area.

Pump stations move water and sewage from homes and businesses to water treatment plants, and if the stations are at lower elevations, their work can be assisted by gravity without needing more expensive infrastructure.

The Mint Lane pump station, currently located behind Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, has been leaking sewage into the area. It needs major upgrades to comply with an EPA consent decree the city is currently under for failures to maintain its sanitary and stormwater sewer systems.

What options is Council reviewing for the Mint Lane pump station?

A presentation from Acting Environmental Quality and Public Works Commissioner Charles Martin shows one possible option is relocating the pump station to a site at Bowman Mill Road, on a portion of Mill Ridge Farm.

The study also looked at keeping the Mint Lane pump station at its current location, which comes with the cheapest estimated cost at roughly $19 million. However, there are also trade-offs, including construction concerns and potential floodplain impacts.

A third option includes moving the station to a site at Blue Grass Airport, though that project would be significantly larger, more complex, and more expensive at an estimated cost of about $48 million.

With an estimated cost of about $25 million, the Bowman Mill project would eliminate the existing Mint Lane pump station. The new Bowman Mill pump station would be outside the floodplain and assisted by gravity based on the area’s topography.

The project would also only need to obtain one easement from the farm’s owners, who have previously approached LFUCG about potentially selling or donating a portion of the farm for the pump station. As CivicLex has previously reported, the family that owns Mill Ridge Farm previously requested to be included in the 2023 Urban Service Area expansion, which didn’t ultimately happen. The area has been scored highly for its potential as developable land.

However, some residents and local advocacy groups, such as Fayette Alliance, that support preserving local farmland oppose the Bowman Mill pump station on the grounds it would potentially open the door for further development outside of the existing Urban Service Area.

With a few exceptions, the Urban Service Area was created to contain all of Lexington’s urban infrastructure, including pump stations, and to help control utility costs over time as the city develops.

The April 14th Council Work Session will take place at 3 p.m. in the Council Chamber of Lexington's Government Center, located at 200 East Main Street.