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388 Kentucky water systems have inventoried 1,907,254 service lines for EPA. 5,248 (0.3%) are confirmed lead and 424,074 (22%) are still of unknown material. Below: every large or city-linked Kentucky utility ranked by lead lines.
Kentucky water systems reported 5,248 lead service lines and 22,810 galvanized lines requiring replacement as of Q2 2026 — 0.3% of the 1,907,254 lines inventoried and 0.2% of the national lead total, ranking #24 of 51. NORTHERN KENTUCKY WATER DISTRICT reports the most in the state (4,047).
NORTHERN KENTUCKY WATER DISTRICT (4,047), LOUISVILLE WATER COMPANY (483), PADUCAH WATER WORKS (121) lead the list; 26 Kentucky systems report at least one lead line in total.
Find your utility in the table below, then check its published service line inventory (most utilities post an address-lookup map) or call the number on your water bill. Utilities must notify customers whose line is lead, galvanized-requiring-replacement or unknown. You can also test the pipe entering your home: lead is soft, dull gray, non-magnetic and turns shiny when scratched.
Under EPA's Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, systems must replace lead and galvanized-requiring-replacement lines within 10 years starting in 2027; systems with very high counts can receive longer deadlines. Ask your utility for its replacement plan and whether it covers the homeowner-owned portion.
Use a filter certified to NSF/ANSI 53 for lead for drinking and cooking, flush the tap after water has sat for hours, never use hot tap water for drinking or infant formula, and confirm your actual level with a certified lab test.
Source: EPA SDWIS Service Line Inventory, Q2 2026 snapshot (updated 2026-08-18). Counts are service lines, not people.
388 of the 388 Kentucky systems in EPA's Q2 2026 report have filed line counts. The 5,248 confirmed lead lines and 22,810 galvanized lines requiring replacement come from 26 systems — 6.7% of those reporting — so lead pipe in Kentucky is concentrated in a small share of systems. 424,074 lines (22%) are still of unknown material, close to the national share of 22%.
The unknown category is not a footnote. Under EPA's Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR), every community water system had to submit an initial service line inventory by October 16, 2024, and lines whose material could not be documented were reported as unknown. The Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI), finalized in October 2024, require systems to keep identifying those lines, to notify customers served by a lead, galvanized-requiring-replacement or unknown line, and to replace lead and galvanized-requiring-replacement lines — generally within 10 years of the rule's November 1, 2027 compliance date. The LCRI also lowers the lead action level from 15 to 10 ppb. For Kentucky, that makes the 424,074 unknown lines (22%) the pool from which future confirmed-lead counts will be drawn.
Among the 23 Kentucky utilities linked to a city report on this site, 14 report at least one lead or galvanized-requiring-replacement line, 3 report none but still have a quarter or more of their lines unverified, and 6 report no lead with most lines verified. The largest — LOUISVILLE WATER COMPANY (806,997 served), KENTUCKY-AMERICAN WATER CO (669,042 served), and NORTHERN KENTUCKY WATER DISTRICT (259,949 served) — report 483 lead + 2,064 GRR, 28 lead + 39 GRR, and 4,047 lead + 61 GRR respectively.
Your own answer is one lookup away: search your utility's service line inventory (usually an address map on its website), or read the water system name and lead results in your latest Consumer Confidence Report. Customers on a lead, galvanized-requiring-replacement or unknown line must be notified by the utility. Failing that, scratch the pipe at the water meter — lead is soft, dull gray, non-magnetic and turns shiny where scratched.
EPA's rule text and timelines are on its Lead and Copper Rule Improvements page. While your line is unverified, our best water filters for lead guide covers NSF/ANSI 53-certified options, and the lead in drinking water guide explains testing and health thresholds.
EPA SDWIS Service Line Inventory, Q2 2026 snapshot (updated 2026-08-18); regulatory dates from EPA's LCRR/LCRI pages.
Community systems serving 50,000+ people plus systems linked to a city report on this site (25 shown). State totals above include every reporting system.
| # | Water system | Status | Lead | GRR | Unknown | Total lines | City report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NORTHERN KENTUCKY WATER DISTRICT KY0590220 · 259,949 served | Lead service lines present | 4,047 | 61 | 21,644 | 93,462 | Fort Thomas → |
| 2 | LOUISVILLE WATER COMPANY KY0560258 · 806,997 served | Lead service lines present | 483 | 2,064 | 59,521 | 327,653 | Louisville → |
| 3 | PADUCAH WATER WORKS KY0730533 · 65,004 served | Lead service lines present | 121 | 625 | 17,345 | 34,307 | Paducah → |
| 4 | KENTUCKY-AMERICAN WATER CO KY0340250 · 669,042 served | Lead service lines present | 28 | 39 | 69,237 | 135,585 | Lexington → |
| 5 | MURRAY WATER SYSTEM KY0180306 · 26,302 served | Lead service lines present | 22 | 1 | 921 | 10,067 | Murray → |
| 6 | MADISONVILLE LIGHT & WATER KY0540936 · 28,102 served | Lead service lines present | 5 | 4 | 5,480 | 10,542 | Madisonville → |
| 7 | BOONE CO WATER & SEWER DISTRICT KY0080034 · 66,300 served | Lead service lines present | 1 | 0 | 1,583 | 28,819 | |
| 8 | ASHLAND WATER WORKS KY0100011 · 44,402 served | Many lines still unverified | 0 | 0 | 12,744 | 14,058 | Ashland → |
| 9 | FRANKFORT PLANT BOARD KY0370143 · 52,153 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 30 | 12,648 | 17,524 | Frankfort → |
| 10 | DANVILLE CITY WATER WORKS KY0110097 · 32,600 served | Many lines still unverified | 0 | 0 | 8,064 | 11,067 | Danville → |
| 11 | RICHMOND UTILITIES KY0760370 · 35,640 served | Many lines still unverified | 0 | 0 | 6,116 | 16,785 | Richmond → |
| 12 | WINCHESTER MUNICIPAL UTILITIES KY0250473 · 29,823 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 16 | 6,100 | 11,389 | Winchester → |
| 13 | HENDERSON WATER UTILITY/NORTH KY0510188 · 31,705 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 2,021 | 224 | 12,347 | Henderson → |
| 14 | SHELBYVILLE WATER & SEWER COMMISSION KY1060394 · 23,760 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 157 | 1 | 9,612 | Shelbyville → |
| 15 | WARREN COUNTY WATER DISTRICT KY1140487 · 91,118 served | No lead service lines reported | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37,177 | |
| 16 | HARDIN COUNTY WATER DISTRICT #2 KY0470175 · 76,326 served | No lead service lines reported | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32,570 | Elizabethtown → |
| 17 | OWENSBORO MUNICIPAL UTILITIES KY0300336 · 60,473 served | No lead service lines reported | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26,522 | Owensboro → |
| 18 | BOWLING GREEN MUNICIPAL UTILITIES KY1140038 · 53,601 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 3,703 | 0 | 20,716 | Bowling Green → |
| 19 | GEORGETOWN MUNICIPAL WATER SERVICE KY1050157 · 44,608 served | No lead service lines reported | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16,046 | Georgetown → |
| 20 | HOPKINSVILLE WATER ENVIRONMENT AUTHORITY KY0240201 · 41,350 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 1,949 | 0 | 17,198 | Hopkinsville → |
| 21 | GLASGOW WATER COMPANY KY0050929 · 36,766 served | No lead service lines reported | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,284 | Glasgow → |
| 22 | NICHOLASVILLE WATER DEPARTMENT KY0570315 · 35,266 served | No lead service lines reported | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13,994 | Nicholasville → |
| 23 | BARDSTOWN MUNICIPAL WATER DEPT KY0900017 · 31,185 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 105 | 0 | 13,739 | Bardstown → |
| 24 | HARDIN COUNTY WATER DISTRICT #1 KY0470393 · 30,230 served | No lead service lines reported | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12,598 | Radcliff → |
| 25 | FLORENCE WATER & SEWER KY0080135 · 29,351 served | Lead service lines present | 0 | 59 | 0 | 9,196 | Florence → |
A lead or unknown service line means lead can enter water after it leaves the treatment plant, so city-level test results understate what reaches your tap. Filter drinking and cooking water with an NSF/ANSI 53 lead-certified system, and see the lead in drinking water guide or Kentucky city water reports.
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