MSD Task Force Begins Work

The task force appointed by Mayor Greg Fischer to look into a potential collaboration between the Louisville Water Company and Metropolitan Sewer District has begun its work. The group’s first meeting was this afternoon.After a state audit of MSD was released last year, Fischer immediately announced a change in the agency’s leadership. He also said he wanted to explore ways to potentially save ratepayers money by sharing or consolidating some of the functions performed by MSD, the Water Company and Metro Public Works.Former Louisville Water Company president John Huber is chairing the task force. He says over the coming month’s they’ll consider all the options.“It’s not a task force to bring about a merger, it’s a task force to evaluate a whole host of different alternatives,” he said. “And it goes all the way from do nothing to perhaps even a complete merger. But there are certain areas, for instance, that they might partner in.”Huber says it could complicate the process because Louisville Water is a corporation, and MSD was created by the commonwealth of Kentucky.“There are legal implications that we’ll have to understand, so we’re going to have a consultant working with us that can delineate what those items are. Some of them might be easier to do that others.”He says the task force is scheduled to present recommendations to Mayor Fischer by April 25.