msd

Louisville sewer officials say they will spend hundreds of millions of dollars in the coming years in an effort to minimize odors that impact residents’ quality of life.

The Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District is pulling ceramic bathroom tiles covered in algae from the bottom of local creeks to test the city’s water quality.

The Metropolitan Sewer District has reopened annual grant applications for neighborhood groups and organizations to plant new trees. The practice helps divert rainwater from sewers and strengthen the local environment.

The project will be possible through a $97 million, low-interest loan from the Environmental Protection Agency.

The sewers were first built in the 1800s, and have withstood more than a century of storm and wastewater.

The event is part of a six-state initiative to collect trash along the river spanning from Pittsburgh to Cairo, Illinois.

Louisville residents will likely see monthly sewer bills go up in August to cover the costs of a federally mandated plan to clean up the city’s waterways.

The Metropolitan Sewer District has completed about 10 percent of a 4-mile-long tunnel meant to store excess sewage and stormwater.

The National Weather Service predicts the river will crest Monday at about 20 feet, which is just about one foot below the action level when the river starts to flow outside its banks.

Don't live in the floodplain? You might after the new flood map takes effect.