State grants $4 million to aid projects for relief of Marion water crisis

On Thursday a combination of $4 million in state funding was announced that will help deal with the city of Marion's ongoing struggle to provide water to its residents and businesses.

The first block grant will include $2.8 million to the Livingston County Fiscal Court. The money will be used to increase the capacity of the Crittenden-Livingston Water District's treatment plant to better serve their customers, and also allow the district to provide more water each day to the city of Marion.

Another $1.2 million will go to Marion itself to make improvements to the city's wastewater treatment plant.

Ever since the dam at Marion's Lake George was breached in 2022, the city has been scrambling to keep water flowing to its residents, while working to make repairs to the dam and its aging municipal infrastructure. 

The western Kentucky awards were part of $13.2 million toward ten projects statewide. 

The funding comes from Kentucky's Community Development Block Grant – Public Facilities program. The program provides funding to develop Kentucky's water and wastewater systems.