Barbourville Water & Electric

This report aims to inform the public about the quality of water and services provided daily. We are committed to delivering safe, clean, and reliable water supply. We will continue to monitor, improve, and protect our water system to ensure high-quality water for our customers.

Barbourville's primary water source is surface water from Honra Lake. We also maintain an intake to draw water from the Cumberland River during emergencies. Upstream activities and land use can pose potential risks to our water supply, potentially affecting treatment processes or water quality.

Under certain conditions, contaminants may be released that could challenge water treatment or enter your tap water. These activities affect the entire community as they impact both health and water costs. An assessment of our water supply's vulnerability to contamination indicates the susceptibility is generally moderate.

Potential contamination sources include land coverage, crop farming, recreational areas, urban development, sewage discharge points, storage tanks, and transportation infrastructure. The complete Source Water Assessment Plan is available for review during regular business hours at the Barbourville Water Treatment Plant.

All water, including bottled water, may reasonably contain small amounts of some contaminants. The presence of contaminants doesn't necessarily indicate health risks. For more information about contaminants and potential health effects, contact the EPA's Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).

Water sources (both tap and bottled) include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs, and wells. As water travels over land or underground, it dissolves naturally occurring minerals and, in some cases, radioactive material, and may pick up substances from animal presence or human activity.

Potential contaminants include:

• Microbial contaminants such as viruses and bacteria from sewage plants, septic systems, and wildlife
• Inorganic contaminants like salts and metals (naturally occurring or from runoff, wastewater discharges, or mining)
• Pesticides and herbicides from agriculture or residential use
• Organic chemical contaminants from industrial processes or petroleum production
• Radioactive contaminants that occur naturally or result from energy production

To ensure tap water safety, the EPA establishes regulations limiting contaminant levels in public water systems. FDA regulations set similar limits for bottled water to provide equal public health protection.

Some individuals may be more vulnerable to water contaminants than the general population. Immunocompromised persons, such as cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, organ transplant recipients, people with HIV/AIDS, elderly individuals, and infants may be particularly susceptible to infections. These individuals should seek advice about drinking water from healthcare providers. EPA/CDC guidelines on reducing infection risk from Cryptosporidium and other microbial contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800-426-4791).

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