Additional Water Quality Info

Louisville Water produces the Louisville Pure Tap® Report to inform customers about their drinking water.  Below is some additional information related to our product, Louisville pure tap®, and how it is made.

Chloramine:  Chloramine is a disinfectant Louisville Water uses to help keep your drinking water safe and bacteria-free.  It prevents unwanted chemical by-products from forming and diminishes taste and odor problems associated with chlorine.

Discolored Water:  Your tap water should run clear; however, the winter cold, construction activities, and the age of your pipes can affect the appearance of tap water.

Milky:  When the outside temperature drops, our pipes get cold and so does your drinking water.  When the water warms, oxygen gas is released as tiny bubbles.  Fill a glass with water and let it stand for a few seconds.  If the water clears from the bottom toward the top, the milky color is just the oxygen bubbles rising.

Rusty:  That reddish color means there is extra iron in the water.  It occurs in homes with older pipes, when the fire department is flushing hydrants nearby, or when pipe construction is going on in your neighborhood.  While the water is still safe to drink, it may not be pleasant to look at.  The reddish color usually disappears after the cold water runs for about a minute.  If you have rusty water that doesn’t clear up, contact our Customer Care Center.

Fluoride:  The Kentucky State Health Department requires public water utilities in Kentucky to add fluoride to drinking water to help maintain strong teeth.  A daily diet that includes small amounts of fluoride has been credited with reducing the number of cavities in children and young adults.  Fluoride naturally occurs in the environment.  Louisville Water adds fluoride to equal one part per million.

Hardness:  Louisville pure tap®, Louisville Water Company’s tap water, is moderately hard, at 159 mg/L or 9.3 grains of calcium carbonate per gallon.  Moderately hard water helps build a protective layer of calcium carbonate on the inside of pipes to protect you from any lead plumbing that may be present in your home.  Softened water is more corrosive and has been linked to heart problems.  Water hardness is measured as calcium carbonate.  Usually when hardness is lower than 60 milligrams per liter (mg/L), the water is “soft."  When hardness is higher than 180 mg/L the water is “hard."

Lead:  Louisville Water exceeds all EPA standards for lead in drinking water.  When water leaves our treatment plants, it does not contain lead. Learn more. 

Ohio River:  Our source for making drinking water, Louisville pure tap®, is the Ohio River.  The Ohio River is 981 miles long, beginning in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and ending in Cairo, Illinois.  Six states border or flow through the Ohio River: Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.  Millions of people use the Ohio River as a source for drinking water.

About 395 million years ago, much of Kentucky and Indiana lay underneath a warm, tropical ocean. That’s right, the Ohio River was once an ocean! Over time, the land appeared and a river was formed.