States → Kentucky
State profile · EPA SDWIS + UCMR5
Kentucky Drinking Water Quality
424 public water systems serve 4,570,541 people across Kentucky, with every Safe Drinking Water Act violation and UCMR5 PFAS result on record.
- 424
- Water systems
- 80,482
- Total violations
- 99.1%
- Systems w/ a violation
- 46.3%
- PFAS detection rate
The verdict
Across Kentucky, 420 of 424 water systems (99.1%) carry at least one EPA violation, and 107 of 231 UCMR5-tested systems show PFAS.
- 80,482
- Total EPA violations on record
- 16%
- Health-based (MCL / treatment)
- 99.1%
- Systems with ≥1 violation
- 46.3%
- UCMR5 PFAS detection rate
Water Systems
424
Total Violations
80,482
Violation Rate
99.1%
PFAS Detection
46.3%
107 of 231 tested
Violation Composition
How Kentucky's 80,482 violations break down by type, per EPA SDWIS classification.
Health-based (12,554) Monitoring/Reporting (67,928)
| Metric | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Public water systems | 424 | - |
| Population served | 4,570,541 | - |
| Total violations | 80,482 | 100% |
| Health-based violations | 12,554 | 15.6% |
| Systems with violations | 420 | 99.1% |
| PFAS detection rate | 107 of 231 | 46.3% |
Health-based violations indicate the contaminant exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) or treatment-technique requirement. Monitoring/reporting violations indicate procedural issues (missed tests, late reports) - not necessarily a contamination event.
Largest Water Systems
Louisville Water Company
Louisville, KY · 764,769 served
Kentucky-American Water Co
Lexington, KY · 299,501 served
Northern Kentucky Water District
Ft. Thomas, KY · 199,460 served
Warren County Water District
Bowling Green, KY · 91,118 served
Hardin County Water District #2
Elizabethtown, KY · 76,326 served
Boone Co Water & Sewer District
Burlington, KY · 66,300 served
Paducah Water Works
Paducah, KY · 65,004 served
Owensboro Municipal Utilities
Owensboro, KY · 60,473 served
Bowling Green Municipal Utilities
Bowling Green, KY · 53,601 served
Frankfort Plant Board
Frankfort, KY · 52,153 served
Ashland Water Works
Ashland, KY · 44,402 served
Mountain Water Dist
Pikeville, KY · 44,057 served
Hopkinsville Water Environment Authority
Hopkinsville, KY · 41,350 served
Oldham County Water District
Buckner, KY · 38,409 served
Glasgow Water Company
Glasgow, KY · 36,766 served
Georgetown Municipal Water Service
Georgetown, KY · 35,714 served
Richmond Utilities
Richmond, KY · 35,640 served
Nicholasville Water Department
Nicholasville, KY · 35,266 served
McCreary County Water District
Whitley City, KY · 34,439 served
Daviess Co Water District
Owensboro, KY · 33,655 served
Most Violations
#1 Stella Trailer Park Murray
1,125 #2 Knox County Utility Commission Barbourville
1,031 #3 Columbus Water Works Columbus
969 #4 Liberty Water Works Liberty
898 #5 Kevil Water Department Kevil
806 #6 Cynthiana Municipal Water Works Cynthiana
754 #7 Pineville Water System Pineville
734 #8 Paris Water Works Paris
730 #9 Owensboro Municipal Utilities Owensboro
701 #10 Morehead Utility Plant Board Morehead
693 #11 Cunningham Water District Cunningham
676 #12 Harrodsburg Municipal Water Department Harrodsburg
675 #13 Northern Kentucky Water District Ft. Thomas
674 #14 Warren County Water District Bowling Green
670 #15 Edmonson Co Water District Brownsville
667 Counties in Kentucky
Jefferson
1 systems · 764,769 served
· 660 violations
Fayette
1 systems · 299,501 served
· 30 violations
Kenton
1 systems · 199,460 served
· 674 violations
Warren
2 systems · 144,719 served
· 689 violations
Hardin
4 systems · 136,859 served
· 885 violations
Daviess
5 systems · 112,731 served
· 830 violations
Pulaski
8 systems · 102,144 served
· 931 violations
Boone
9 systems · 100,541 served
· 1,345 violations
Madison
6 systems · 91,879 served
· 1,012 violations
Christian
4 systems · 89,360 served
· 404 violations
Laurel
5 systems · 71,586 served
· 832 violations
McCracken
3 systems · 67,098 served
· 399 violations
Boyd
3 systems · 66,399 served
· 832 violations
Franklin
4 systems · 65,214 served
· 485 violations
Hopkins
10 systems · 57,432 served
· 1,359 violations
Jessamine
4 systems · 56,685 served
· 1,350 violations
Pike
3 systems · 55,418 served
· 918 violations
Shelby
4 systems · 53,306 served
· 267 violations
Nelson
4 systems · 51,678 served
· 659 violations
Henderson
6 systems · 51,331 served
· 1,467 violations
Oldham
2 systems · 48,476 served
· 40 violations
Floyd
5 systems · 44,358 served
· 1,488 violations
Whitley
5 systems · 41,263 served
· 497 violations
Greenup
7 systems · 40,510 served
· 1,573 violations
Meade
5 systems · 40,164 served
· 739 violations
Barren
2 systems · 40,030 served
· 433 violations
Marshall
6 systems · 37,506 served
· 1,276 violations
Clark
2 systems · 37,189 served
· 315 violations
Boyle
2 systems · 36,861 served
· 417 violations
Muhlenberg
5 systems · 36,058 served
· 429 violations
Showing top 30 of 118 counties.
Drinking Water Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
How many water systems are in Kentucky? ▼
Kentucky has 424 public water systems serving approximately 4,570,541 people. These include community water systems, non-transient non-community systems, and transient non-community systems regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
How many drinking water violations are in Kentucky? ▼
Kentucky has 80,482 total drinking water violations on record, with 12,554 classified as health-based violations. 99.1% of water systems in the state have at least one violation.
Has PFAS been found in Kentucky drinking water? ▼
Of 231 water systems tested for PFAS in Kentucky, 107 had PFAS detected, a 46.3% detection rate. PFAS are persistent "forever chemicals" that do not break down in the environment.
What is the violation rate for Kentucky water systems? ▼
Kentucky's violation rate is 99.1%. This measures the percentage of public water systems that have at least one recorded violation in the EPA SDWIS database, including both health-based and monitoring/reporting violations.
Where does this Kentucky water data come from? ▼
All drinking water data comes from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) and the UCMR5 PFAS monitoring program. SDWIS is the federal database that tracks compliance for all public water systems regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Data Sources & Methodology
Drinking water violation data from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS). PFAS testing data from the UCMR5 monitoring program. SDWIS tracks all public water systems regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Related
Data sourced from EPA SDWIS and UCMR5 PFAS monitoring data. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainWater Editorial
Every figure on PlainWater is rendered directly from EPA SDWIS drinking-water data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on EPA SDWIS data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.