An inventory was conducted between April and October 1985 of 101 major public supply systems and of self-supplied commercial and industrial water systems in a 27-county area in western Kentucky. These systems, because they withdraw at least 10,000 gal/day (gpd), are regulated by the Kentucky Natural Resources and Environmental Projection Cabinet (Division of Water) through a permitting program. The major purpose of the inventory was to evaluate the adequacy of these water systems to meet demands during times of drought. The inventory indicated that these systems withdrew 116.3 million gpd in 1984. The study showed that public facilities supplied 33.1 mil gpd to 471,500 people. Bowling Green Municipal Utilities in the Green River basin was the largest single public supplier. It supplied 5.05 million gpd to 48,000 people, and also sold over 1.7 million gpd to about 30 ,000 people through the Warren County Water System. Comparisons of ground- and surface-water use indicated the Lower Ohio River basin had the highest percentage of surface-water use at 97%, and the Mississippi River basin had the highest percentage of groundwater use at 41%. Sources of water were generally adequate throughout the study area. Sources for two industries, also in the Green River basin, are inadequate. Six systems may have potential problems with their treatment plant capacities because they are operating at > 80% of design capacity. Three of these systems are in the Green River basin, two are in the Lower Cumberland River basin, and one is in the Tennessee River basin. (Author 's abstract)
