By Tom Latek
Kentucky Today
Kentucky’s 2024 Drinking Water Compliance Report shows that public water systems across the state continue to produce high-quality drinking water for the public and have a high rate of compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), according to the Kentucky Division of Water (DOW).
The annual report, which is required by EPA, summarizes compliance data and monitoring results for Kentucky’s public water systems.
“We are proud that Kentucky is a national leader in safe drinking water and has a very low rate of health-based violations,” said DOW Director Sarah Jon Gaddis. “Less than 0.001 percent of tests results submitted by water systems constituted health-based violations. Our public water systems and operators deserve a great deal of credit for the state’s high rate of compliance with state and federal rules and regulations.”
Approximately 98% of Kentucky’s population is served by public water systems regulated by DOW, Gaddis said, adding, “We remain committed to working with our partners to ensure that safe, reliable drinking water is delivered to Kentucky’s citizens.”
The SDWA rules require water systems to routinely test for bacteria and chemical contaminants and report them to the state. A water system will receive a violation if it does not complete required testing, incorrectly reports testing, fails to submit results on time, doesn’t provide proper treatment, or exceeds established limits for these contaminants.
In 2024, a total of 144 violations were issued to 71 different public water systems across the state.
Out of the 144 violations, 56 were “monitoring/reporting” violations and were administrative in nature. These violations do not directly pose a risk to public health, and water systems can often resolve them quickly by completing the necessary monitoring or submitting required documents to the DOW.
The remaining 88 violations were “health-based” violations and include maximum contaminant level (MCL) violations as well as treatment technique violations that may pose a risk to the consumer.
The full Kentucky Annual Drinking Water Compliance Report is available online here.