September 5 is “Protect Your Groundwater Day”

Today is Protect Your Groundwater Day, and the National Groundwater Association has a page with tips on conserving groundwater and protecting it from contamination.

KGS is involved in monitoring, researching, and protecting our state’s groundwater resources. An estimated 1.5 million Kentuckians receive domestic water from supply systems that use groundwater, and 416,000 Kentuckians use well water or springs. Kentucky has more than 200,000 water wells, including domestic wells, monitoring wells, public supply wells, irrigation wells, and industrial wells.

The KGS Water Resources Section researches the state’s groundwater issues and maintains a large amount of information about groundwater, much of which is available on the KGS website. Our Groundwater Data Repository contains searchable water analyses for more than 102,000 wells and more than 5,200 springs. The KGS website contains more information on groundwater data and research activities.

The Survey is also developing the Kentucky Groundwater Observation Network. This network will help fulfill our legislative mandate to collect data needed to assess the quantity and availability of the state’s groundwater resources. Samples from network wells will be periodically analyzed to help provide baseline information about groundwater quality in the aquifers being monitored.