LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The rain has stopped across the Commonwealth, but cities like Louisville will deal with flood water for several more days. As of Monday, April 7, all 16 flood pump stations are activated and are pushing billions of gallons of water out of the city and into the Ohio River.
“Looks like it’s going to be a top ten event for us,” said Dane Anderson, MSD flood protection operations director.
Anderson said there were no major issues with the system that includes 70-plus year old facilities.
“Everything has pumped at some point in time, we’re starting to kind of throttle back a little bit with some of the water since it’s starting to, like I said, the rain’s not coming down so now it’s just a matter of catching up with all this flooding, inland flooding that we’ve got that’s trying to get pulled back down right now,” Anderson said.
MSD crews are working around the clock, managing stations like the Beargrass Flood Pump Station. Low-lying areas like along nearby Mellwood Ave. are impassable and some homes and vehicles there have flooded.
The Ohio River is expected to reach its highest point Wednesday, April 9. Once we pass the crest, Anderson said the pump stations will gradually be switched off as they are no longer needed.
MSD estimates by the end of this weather event, they will have pumped 12 to 15 billion gallons of water out of the city.
