The Grayson County Water District (GCWD) is in the process of purchasing the Edmonson County Water District’s (ECWD) assets in Grayson County.
“In early 2025 the Grayson County Water District was approached by the Edmonson County Water District to inquire if GCWD would be interested in purchasing the customers, infrastructure, and territory of the ECWD that was in Grayson County,” according to GCWD official Kyle Cannon.
But, in recent years, Cannon said the ECWD’s “aging water treatment plant and other aging infrastructure caused water quality and water availability issues in those (Grayson Co.) parts of the system and required upgrades to improve those issues made it cost prohibitive to continue serving those areas from ECWD.”
The issues faced by the ECWD resulted in officials concluding that the GCWD is a more “cost-effective option” for serving Grayson County customers, Cannon said.
The deal
The purchase price for Grayson County’s portion of ECWD’s territory is $4,658,500, according to Cannon. The purchase will be financed through a 1-percent loan for $7,848,000, which has been approved by the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority (KIA).
The remaining funds, Cannon noted, will be used to finance infrastructure upgrades in the territory.
“GCWD has also been approved for loan forgiveness by the KIA in the amount of $2,784,517, leaving the total outstanding principal at $5,063,483.
An Asset Purchase agreement was made between the ECWD and GCWD on September 23, 2025.
On October 6, 2025, the agreement was filed with the Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) requesting an order to approve the transfer of ownership of ECWD’s Grayson County distribution system to GCWD, and an order authorizing the issuance of securities by GCWD to purchase the territory.
The purchase is expected to be approved by the PSC on or about July 1, 2026, as the GCWD and ECWD continue to work with the PSC to obtain approval of the transfer of ownership.
Timeline of transfer process up to the Asset Purchase agreement in Sept. 2025
January 15, 2025: GCWD was approached by ECWD to purchase territory.
February 18, 2025: The GCWD board decided to move forward with negotiations with ECWD for the purchase of the ECWD’s territory in Grayson County.
May 25, 2025: The board passed resolutions approving a Statement of Intent to Purchase and an Operating Agreement with ECWD.
May 29, 2025: Both the Operating Agreement and Statement of Intent were fully executed.
June 23, 2025: GCWD was invited by KIA to apply for a low interest loan and grant funding to finance the cost of purchasing ECWD’s system in Grayson County, as well as infrastructure upgrades that accompany the project.
August 1, 2025: GCWD began operating the new territory under the operating agreement with ECWD.
August 25, 2025: The board authorized the chairperson to enter into a loan agreement with KIA to finance the purchase and infrastructure upgrades for the new territory.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
