Continued growth of Nicholasville and Jessamine County has resulted in the most recent 1990-1992 expansion of the plant to its current capacity of 6.0 MGD. The recent expansion also addressed concerns about the adequacy of the existing intake pumping stations during low river pool levels, which were experienced during the 1988 drought. The plant expansion included a new river intake pumping station (with deeper intakes), a new 24-inch raw water transmission main, new chemical feed facilities and chemical mix basin, additional flocculation basins, additional settling basins, two additional filters, a new treated water storage tank, new high service and backwash pumping station, new sludge lagoons, and an upgrade of the computer plant instrumentation system for the monitoring and control of treatment plant operations.

In 1993, at the annual convention of the Kentucky/Tennessee chapter of the American Water Works Association, the Nicholasville Water Treatment Plant was presented the “Award for Excellence in Operations” for treatment plants in the capacity range of 5-10 million gallons per day. This award was given, in part, in recognition of the superior quality water produced at the Nicholasville Water Treatment Plant.

The 2020 expansion of the water treatment plant is now underway and expected to be finished in October of 2023. Expanding the plant will allow the City to go from being able to treat 4.1 million gallons of water a day to 7.1 million gallons a day, an increase of 73%.