Kentucky's 'worst' water system might be only weeks away from collapse [View all]

Representatives of the Martin County Water District described a system on the verge of financial catastrophe at a state hearing Friday, saying the district would effectively collapse within 60 to 90 days without an immediate influx of cash.

Kentucky’s Public Service Commission, the state agency that regulates most utilities, held a hearing in Frankfort to consider the district’s application for an emergency rate increase of nearly 50 percent for its 3,500 customers.

Without additional revenue, the district will soon miss payroll and “when we do, all our employees will quit,” said John Horn, chairman of the Martin County Water Board.

The Eastern Kentucky water district made headlines recently when it shut off water to thousands of customers for days, or in some cases weeks, when an intake pump and service pipes froze during frigid weather earlier this month.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/news/state/article196902209.html