Records currently available
Kentucky record snapshot
These counts describe reviewed records available on Water Quality Lookup. They are not a count of every provider, city, or county in Kentucky.
Reviewed profiles or limited identity records.
Local entry points, not service-area boundaries.
Guide sources reviewed September 13, 2026.
Cities
Kentucky city entry points currently available
These Kentucky city pages are local starting points. City boundaries and water service areas may not match, and more than one provider may serve a city.
Louisville
Start with LOUISVILLE WATER COMPANY, then confirm the provider for your address.
Open LouisvilleOwensboro
Start with OWENSBORO MUNICIPAL UTILITIES, then confirm the provider for your address.
Open OwensboroBowling Green
Start with BOWLING GREEN MUNICIPAL UTILITIES, then confirm the provider for your address.
Open Bowling GreenWater systems
Kentucky public water systems currently available
These previews link to reviewed system profiles with identifiers, report-year context, sources, and limitations.
LOUISVILLE WATER COMPANY
PWSID KY0560258 · Louisville · Latest reviewed report 2025
View system profileOWENSBORO MUNICIPAL UTILITIES
PWSID KY0300336 · Owensboro · Latest reviewed report 2025
View system profileBOWLING GREEN MUNICIPAL UTILITIES
PWSID KY1140038 · Bowling Green · Latest reviewed report 2026
View system profileReport context
Three Kentucky reports and their distinct water sources
The existing public system profiles retain their July 30, 2026 review date. This state guide’s September 13 review does not change those dates or replace the reporting periods printed in the documents.
Louisville · KY0560258
Two plants with different source arrangements
Louisville’s 2025 report describes Ohio River surface water at the Crescent Hill plant and groundwater collected through riverbank filtration at the B.E. Payne plant. Its plant labels matter when reading the tables.
Those source descriptions do not establish which plant or blend supplies an individual home today.
Owensboro · KY0300336
Groundwater from the Ohio River Alluvium
Owensboro Municipal Utilities’ 2025 report describes a 41-well field drawing from the Ohio River Alluvium, an aquifer northeast of Owensboro. Water is sent to the William R. Cavin Water Treatment Plant.
The river name is part of the aquifer description. It does not make this system’s groundwater records interchangeable with Louisville’s surface-water results.
Bowling Green · KY1140038
The Big Barren River and an upstream confluence
Bowling Green Municipal Utilities’ 2026 report describes the Big Barren River as its source, flowing from Barren River Reservoir with Drakes Creek joining above the intake. Its main results table covers 2025, with some older sample periods.
The source report also contains conflicting Cryptosporidium wording. Its dated statements remain separate; they are not combined into a new detection or current-condition claim.
Continue your Kentucky lookup
Use the system directory, a plain-language guide, or the methodology page for the next step.
System directory
Kentucky public water systems
Browse the reviewed system profiles currently available for this state.
Browse systemsLookup guide
How to look up your drinking water system
Start with a utility bill, PWSID, state lookup tool, or official report so you can find the public water system behind a city or provider name.
Read the lookup guideReport guide
How to read a water quality report
A plain-English walkthrough of Consumer Confidence Reports, including report years, detected contaminants, legal limits, violations, and source notes.
Read the report guideData and trust
Sources, methodology, and limitations
See how records are sourced, reviewed, dated, and limited before using a summary.
Review methodologyStatewide context
Compare source types, plant labels, and sample periods
Ohio River context
A river and its aquifer are different source settings
Louisville’s report describes a direct river intake and a separate riverbank-filtration source. Owensboro’s report describes groundwater in the Ohio River Alluvium. These are specific system arrangements, not a statewide source mix or the result for a household well.
Report years
A 2026 edition can contain 2025 and older results
Louisville and Owensboro label their reports 2025. Bowling Green labels its report 2026 while its main table contains 2025 results and lead-and-copper rows dated 2024. Use the report title, covered year, and row’s sample period together.
PFAS studies
Kentucky’s study groups cover different sampling efforts
Kentucky’s PFAS page separates its 2019 finished-drinking-water study from a 2023 study of additional treatment plants. Those studies have different sample coverage. A study map or environmental result is not a current test of every system or private well.
Official lookup
Find a Kentucky system in Drinking Water Watch
Worked example
Find Louisville using its full system ID
A reviewed exact-ID search for KY0560258 returned LOUISVILLE WATER COMPANY. Its detail record confirms the same ID and name, with Jefferson as the principal county and SW as the source code.
The record establishes system identity. It does not identify the particular plant or source serving a home.
- Enter KY0560258 in Water System No. for the Louisville example.
- Choose Search For Water Systems.
- Open LOUISVILLE WATER COMPANY and confirm the full PWSID.
- Choose the relevant record category and date range only after confirming your supplier.
Sample dates
Set the period for the record you need
Kentucky’s public form offers name, county, system-type, and source-type filters. It says sample searches default to the last two years unless dates are provided. An older annual-report sample may therefore require a different date range.
Keep the full system ID, sample date, and measure label with a records question. Kentucky’s consumer guidance also points to supplier assistance and federal system records.
Official guidance
Find reports, alerts, inventory information, and well help
Annual reports
Choose the document for your supplier and reporting year
Louisville, Owensboro, and Bowling Green publish official water-quality report resources. Use the named plant or sampling location where a report separates them, and keep notes with the results.
Ask your supplier for a missing report, a paper or accessible copy, or language assistance. Louisville’s report provides a copy-request route and a Spanish-language assistance notice.
Find Louisville’s official reports →
Current instructions
Use the provider’s notice and alert channel
Owensboro Municipal Utilities publishes boil-water-advisory guidance and a separate text-alert page. These are provider-specific resources. Check your own supplier’s affected area, dates, and latest instructions before applying a notice.
Ask the supplier which alert service covers your address; an annual report is not a live advisory feed.
Service-line materials
Use Check Your Pipes KY with your utility’s records
Kentucky’s Check Your Pipes KY resources explain service-line inventories and provide material-identification guidance. Ask your utility what is recorded for your connection and how an unknown entry can be checked.
The material record and a tap-water sample answer different questions. Confirm any local testing or replacement options directly with the supplier.
Private wells and cisterns
Arrange testing for the water source you use
Kentucky’s well-owner guidance covers private wells and cisterns and directs owners to certified laboratories for bacteria and other contaminants, such as nitrate. Ask the laboratory which analyses address your concern and how to collect and transport the samples.
A groundwater map, a well record, or a nearby public system’s report cannot substitute for testing your own supply.
PFAS information
Keep the study year and sample type attached
Kentucky’s PFAS page links finished-drinking-water studies alongside groundwater, surface-water, and other environmental information. Choose the relevant sample type and period before comparing a result with a supplier’s report.
Use the current state and federal resources for rule updates; this guide does not turn an older study or proposal into a present compliance determination.
Common questions
Using Kentucky water information
Source types
Does the Ohio River label mean Louisville and Owensboro use the same source?
Their reports describe different arrangements. Louisville separates direct Ohio River surface water from groundwater collected through riverbank filtration; Owensboro describes groundwater from the Ohio River Alluvium. Use the confirmed supplier and the relevant plant or source label.
Report years
Why is Bowling Green’s 2026 report shown with 2025 overviews?
Its main table is titled 2025 Test Results, while some rows cover older periods. The edition year and the collection year are separate pieces of information.
Private supplies
Can a nearby system report replace testing my well or cistern?
No. Kentucky directs private-supply owners to certified laboratories. Discuss your own source, the tests you need, and the sampling instructions with the laboratory.
Official sources
Official sources for Kentucky
Use Kentucky Division of Water Drinking Water Program and the official sources below to verify system identity, record dates, and current notices before relying on a summary.
Statewide sources
Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, Division of Water
PWSID KY0560258 · Sources for this system
Louisville Water Company
Utility report
PWSID KY0300336 · Sources for this system
Owensboro Municipal Utilities
Utility report
PWSID KY1140038 · Sources for this system
Bowling Green Municipal Utilities
Utility report