On April 28, the City of Covington Mayor and Commissioners passed an Order/Resolution requesting that Sanitation District No. 1 (SD1) restore its maintenance program for private sanitary sewer laterals.

Prior to July 1, 2013, SD1’s program provided for the maintenance of sanitary sewer laterals that ran between private property and the public sewer connection beneath the road.

Beginning with its fiscal year 2014 budget, SD1 eliminated this service. With the elimination of this program, the responsibility for repair and maintenance of sewer laterals falls to property owners.

Estimated repair costs can range anywhere from $3,000 to $15,000, and require the property owner to be responsible for replacing section of public roads in order to access the sewer lateral for repairs.

The burden of these high costs has resulted in sewer laterals falling into disrepair, resulting in the formation of sinkholes in City streets. These sink holes create a public health and safety issue that continues to get worse the longer they are left unabated.

Unfortunately, the City does not have the authority to require property owners to repairs laterals in a timely manner.

The City is requesting that the SD1 Board and County Judge/Executives restore the private sanitary sewer lateral repair program in next SD1 budget. The current proposed budget for SD1’s Fiscal Year 2016 does not contain funding to reinstate the sewer lateral maintenance program that previously existed. Information regarding the proposed Fiscal Year 2016 budget is available for viewing at www.sd1.org.

Covington residents are welcome to share their opinions during SD1’s public comment period. SD1 will be accepting comments from the community regarding the proposed budget beginning May 26, 2015 and ending June 9, 2015. Written comments can be submitted the following ways:

• By mail to Valerie Forsyth, SD1, 1045 Eaton Drive, Ft. Wright, KY 41017
• By email to info@sd1.org with “Budget Comments” in the subject line
• In person at SD1’s main office during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Public comment forms are available on SD1’s website, in SD1’s main lobby and at all library branch locations in Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties.

Following the public comment period, the SD1 Board of Directors and the judges executive for Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties will review and consider all public comments before determining the budget.