Louisville MSD’s Waterway Protection Tunnel.
Ahead of the Curve: Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District’s Innovation
L
ouisville Metropolitan Sewer District (Louisville MSD) has been providing wastewater services to Jefferson County, Kentucky, since the mid-20th century—and has some infrastructure in place that dates to the mid-1800s. While it has a venerable history, Louisville MSD is on the cutting edge. In 2019, it won the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences’ Franz Edelman Award for Achievement in Advanced Analytics, Operations Research, and Management Science as well as the Water Environment Foundation’s (WEF) National Municipal Stormwater and Green Infrastructure Award for innovation. In this interview, Tony Parrott, Louisville MSD’s executive director, and Wesley Sydnor, its director of intergovernmental relations, speak with Municipal Water Leader about the district’s real-time sewer control system, its green infrastructure, and the other ways in which it is keeping ahead of the curve.
Tony Parrott: I’ve been in the water and wastewater business for over 35 years and served in the capacity of executive director for three different utilities. I’ve been at Louisville MSD since 2015; prior to that, I was executive director of Cincinnati Metropolitan District for 10 years.
24 | MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER
Municipal Water Leader: Please tell us about Louisville MSD and its history. Tony Parrott: The district was established under Kentucky state law in 1946 to serve the residents of Jefferson County, Kentucky, and is governed by a board of directors that is appointed by the mayor of Louisville. We built our first and largest wastewater treatment plant in 1958 and have five major wastewater treatment plants today. We provide wastewater collection and treatment services, storm water management services, and flood control and management for a population of about 800,000. We have an annual capital budget of approximately $200 million a year and an operating budget of approximately $119 million a year. We have about 700 full-time employees. Municipal Water Leader: What are the MSD’s top issues today?
PHOTOS COURTESY OF LOUISVILLE MSD.
Municipal Water Leader: Please tell us about your backgrounds and how you came to be in your current positions.
Wesley Sydnor: I’ve been in the water and clean water industry for 20 years and have been in my current role for a little over 2 years. By education I am a civil engineer. My day-to-day work includes working with elected officials, constituents, and customers to resolve problems and to engage on a state and federal level to promote water and our work.
