Harlan County water districts receive OK to merge

Staff Report

Two water districts in southeastern Kentucky have won approval to merge.

The Kentucky Public Service Commission said in a statement Monday that it has approved the merger of Green Hills Water District and Black Mountain Utility District in Harlan County.

Black Mountain has been operating Green Hills under a temporary operating agreement since March. The PSC says a complete failure of the Green Hills system in January left customers without water service for 10 days.

The merged district will be known as the Black Mountain Utility District. Green Hills has 507 customers, mostly in Harlan County and some in Leslie County. Black Mountain has 2,672 water customers in Harlan County.

A press release was issued Monday from the Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC).

According to previous reports, Black Mountain has been running the day to day activities of the Green Hills Water District since the two districts made the decision to merge about three months ago. The PSC release states “In the order, the PSC gave the two districts 150 days to complete the merger. If they fail to do so, permission for the consolidation will be withdrawn.”

“The Green Hills and Black Mountain Water Systems will remain physically separate until the end of this year, when a line over the crest of Pine Mountain connecting them is expected to be completed,” the PSC release explains.