The recently updated Caneyville wastewater plant has encountered issues with its engineering, according to Supervisor of Water and Wastewater Avery Flener.

Flener said grit (a byproduct of storm water and mud seeping into the sewer system) should be passing through the plant’s stilling well and into its grit chamber, the latter of which would contain and prevent the grit from passing into the plant.

Based on Kenviron’s designs for the plant updates, however, Flener said the grit has begun settling in the plant’s stilling well before it can flow into the grit chamber. This is due to the floor’s being too deep to allow the grit to rise into the grit chamber, Flener said.

Flener said his main concern with the problem is that if the grit builds up too much, it could clog the pumps and cause the system to kick off.

At the Caneyville City Commission meeting on March 11, Flener reported the issue to the Commission and said he plans contact Lindsey’s Sanitation to have the grit pumped out.

The Commission recommended that, in addition to contacting Lindsey’s, Flener contact Kenviron’s (the engineering company who supplied the plans for the wastewater plant’s recent updates) to inform them about the issue.

Flener said he contacted Vern Shanklin, the engineer from Kenviron’s, on the morning of Friday, March 15 to inform him of the problem.

Flener said Shanklin agreed with him that the floor was too deep and said Kenviron’s would go to the plant to look into the problem.

Shanklin and Flener decided to raise the floor level of the still well 1-foot-and-6-inches to allow for the grit to flow into the grit chamber, which Flener said should take care of the problem.

As of press time, neither a date nor a price has been set for the corrections to be made, Flener said.