No more free Lake Cumberland water for cities, businesses

SOMERSET, Ky. (AP) – After a $600 million repair of the Wolf Creek Dam that impounds Lake Cumberland, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says cities and businesses that have long drawn the water for free will have to start paying. And they will have to contribute toward any future repairs.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports supplying water was not an authorized purpose for the Wolf Creek Dam when Congress approved it in the 1930s. The corps is now studying the feasibility of reallocating storage capacity to water supply.

Currently using the water for free are water systems in Somerset, Burnside, Monticello, Jamestown, Albany, and McCreary County; a federal fish hatchery in Russell County; General Burnside Island State Park; Woodson Bend Resort; Kingsford Charcoal; and a Pulaski County power plant.