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Water Quality
Providing you with safe, clean drinking water at the lowest rates possible is our top priority. Warren County Water District takes pride in the fact that our water exceeds the extensive requirements set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Kentucky Department of Natural Resources. Warren Water purchases most of its water from Bowling Green Municipal Utilities (BGMU), which draws water from the Barren River. Both utilities work in close partnership to ensure constant, high-quality water. We test the purity of the water an average of 1,000,000 times each year.
Each year, Warren Water publishes a Water Quality Report to provide you with detailed information about your water quality. To view our current Water Quality Report click the link above. Of course, should you have any questions about your water and our efforts to ensure top quality, please call us at (270) 842-0052.
Disinfection
Disinfection, sometimes referred to loosely as chlorination, is a necessary part of the water treatment process. Disinfection is typically done by adding small amounts of a chlorine-based disinfectant to water. It destroys water-borne microbes, bacteria, and viruses – organisms that can cause serious illnesses or death. Typhoid and cholera, which have killed hundreds of thousands of people in global epidemics, have been controlled in the United States through the addition of disinfectant to drinking water.
The Environmental Protection Agency regulates the quality of drinking water on a federal level. Its regulations cover acceptable, safe levels of microorganisms, disinfectant, and disinfection byproducts.
Lead
Lead is a naturally occuring metal that is all around us. It was used many years in paints, plumbing and other products found in and around homes. The Environmental Protection Agency has determined that lead can cause health problems if it accumulates in a person’s body over time. While lead in tap water is rarely the single cause of lead poisoning, it can increase a person’s total lead exposure.
In 1991, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established the first Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) to reduce exposure to lead in drinking water. High levels of lead in your household drinking water can have significant health impacts, especially for children and pregnant women.
Warren Water tests for lead and has never exceeded the EPA action level. Warren Water is committed to this generation and future generations by providing quality water on tap by monitoring pH levels and testing for lead as required by the EPA.
Warren Water does not have any lead service lines in our system. Water systems stopped the use of lead service lines before the creation of Warren Water’s system across the county in the early 1940s. Warren Water will be taking additional inventory per the direction of the Kentucky Division of Water of all service lines.
Older homes (those typically built before 1950) may have lead service lines on the customer’s property that connect to Warren Water’s lines. Those water lines are the homeowner’s responsibility along with any plumbing, faucets and fixtures inside the home. The water main and the portion of the service line from the meter to the water main is owned and maintained by Warren Water.
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Lead
PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) compounds have been widely used in the manufacturing of carpets, clothing, fabrics for furniture, paper packaging for food and other materials since the 1940’s. They are also used for firefighting and in industrial processes. The EPA says most people are exposed to these chemicals through consumer products. Drinking water can be an additional source of exposure in communities where these chemicals have entered the water supplies. Currently, there is no federal regulation for PFAS.
PFAS are a large family of compounds, up to 5,000 chemicals. EPA is focused on a small number of these compounds that may have health effects at very low concentrations, two of which are Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS).
In June 2022, the EPA set new Interim Health Advisory Levels (first steps to developing formal regulations) for PFOA at 0.004 parts per trillion and 0.02 parts per trillion for PFOS. These are microscopic levels, trace amounts. For perspective, 1 part per trillion is equal to 1 drop in 500,000 barrels of water. These new health advisories are also below current reliable detection abilities of scientific equipment (scientists can currently detect PFAS compounds at 2 parts per trillion).
PFAS research and the understanding of “safe” levels of PFAS exposure continues to evolve. Ongoing monitoring and research will be required at local, state, and national levels. In 2019, the Kentucky Division of Water collected samples on July 22 as part of a statewide investigation of drinking water systems. The levels of both PFOA and PFAS were not detected.
As part of the EPA’s URC Monitoring Program, Warren Water along with all water utilities are testing for these substance levels. Providing safe drinking water will continue to be our top priority at Warren Water.
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US Environmental Protection Agency