Preventing groundwater pollution is every Kentuckian's concern. The Groundwater Protection Plan regulation 401 KAR 5:037 was promulgated in 1994 by the Division of Water to ensure protection for Kentucky's groundwater resources.
Groundwater recharges water for our streams, lakes, ponds, rivers and wetlands. Even though your community does not use groundwater for drinking water, its activities may pollute drinking water for those who live outside the community. The groundwater underlying the homes in your community may travel great distances, eventually surfacing at a spring or well being used for someone's drinking water.
At least one-half of Kentucky's aquifers occur in karst regions (land areas containing sinkholes, caves, springs, disappearing streams, few or no surface streams). Groundwater in karst areas is highly susceptible to pollution. People living in these regions must be especially careful that their activities do not pollute groundwater. In karst regions, the surface water quickly becomes groundwater when surface runoff flows into sinkholes, a stream disappears underground or water otherwise infiltrates quickly underground.
Groundwater protection can be achieved through education, compliance with the regulatory requirements of the Groundwater Protection Plan Program (401 KAR 5:037) and community planning via the Wellhead Protection Program.