The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Louisville District joined Louisville and Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) and local, state and federal officials to break ground on a $230 million project to replace MSD’s Paddy’s Run Flood Pump Station in Louisville, Kentucky, Aug. 15, 2023.
“The upgrade of Paddy’s Run Pump Station is a monumental first step in the repair, rehabilitation, and reconstruction of features within Louisville’s flood protection system and is a testament to MSD’s commitment to this project,” said Col. L. Reyn Mann, USACE Louisville District commander. “We are proud to continue our long-standing partnership with MSD as we take a collective step toward ensuring the future of the Metro Louisville Flood Protection System.”
Paddy’s Run Flood Pump Station, built in 1953, is part of the larger Louisville Metro Flood Protection System that protects 216,000 people, 87,000 structures, and $33 billion in property. In 2020, in partnership with MSD, USACE completed a study, which recommended repair and rehabilitation of 14 pump stations, such as the one at Paddy's Run, as well as improvements to floodwalls, gates, and road closure structures throughout the system. Once reconstructed, these measures will provide greater reliability to the Louisville Metro Flood Protection System by bringing 1950s-era components up to current standards.
MSD secured grant money from the Cleaner Water Grant under the American Rescue Plan Act to assist with construction of the new Paddy’s Run Flood Pump Station. The new state-of-the-art facility will provide increased pumping capacity to reduce flood risk for 63,000 residents.
“The Louisville Metro Flood Protection System remains a top priority for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and we were encouraged by the recent announcement of $1 million dollars of federal funding that will advance other features of the system into the preconstruction, design and engineering,” Mann said. “While additional funds will still be required to see the project through completion, this funding has allowed us to take an important first step in improving the system’s reliability.”
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Congressman Morgan McGarvey, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, State Director for U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell, Robbin Taylor and Councilwoman Tammy Hawkins were also in attendance at the groundbreaking ceremony hosted by MSD.
“It takes a tenacious team, and I know all of us here today are eager and committed to see this project through to completion,” Mann said.
The Louisville Metro Flood Protection System consists of a more than 26-miles of levee and floodwall, with 15 federally constructed pumping stations for maintaining interior drainage in times of flooding. The project was constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in response to devastating floods that occurred in the Ohio River Valley in 1937 and was assigned to local interests beginning in February 1957. The project affords protection for loss of life and property damage to the City of Louisville against an Ohio River flood equal to the maximum flood of record in January 1937.