LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Water Quality Fees Board approved a $60,000 change order on July 23 for a Kentucky American Water project designed to prevent trash from contaminating drinking water supplies at Jacobson Reservoir.

The Volatile Trash Collection System project targets trash flowing into Reservoir Number 4, which supplies water to the Richmond Road Treatment Plant serving residents inside New Circle Road. Eric DeWalt, who presented the change order request to the board, described the challenge as significant: an 800-acre watershed with more than 50 percent impervious surface area—including commercial properties like Lowe's along Richmond Road—sends debris into the reservoir during rainstorms.

The project began in 2021 following a 2019 grant application to the Water Quality Fees Board. The Water Quality Fees Board oversees the Stormwater Quality Projects Incentive Grant Program, which is funded through the Water Quality Management Fee established by the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government under a legal agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for Clean Water Act violations.

DeWalt explained that earlier trash trap designs proved impractical due to maintenance challenges and water level fluctuations at the reservoir. The final solution features a floating collection system with booms attached to riser rods that rise and fall with water levels, capturing trash that can be removed by standard waste management trucks—eliminating manual labor handling bags of debris. The project represents an effort to develop a low-cost trap design that could be replicated in other communities.

The board also discussed Class A Neighborhood Grants and Class B Education Grants during the July 23 meeting at the Tate Building.