Aquifer Designation - KDOW Water Use Program

The proposed project is intended to assist the Kentucky Division of Water (KDOW) in better managing the state’s groundwater resources and protecting groundwater supplies, and to improve the compilation of state water use data collected by the KDOW and compiled nationally by USGS under the SECURE Water Act. Kentucky is a geologically and topographically diverse state with a wide variety of local and regional aquifer systems. Geological strata that act as aquifers include Paleozoic sedimentary bedrock such as sandstone, siltstone, limestone, and coal, and Quaternary, Tertiary, and Cretaceous unconsolidated sand and gravel deposits. At the present time no formally published aquifer maps exist and the ability of KDOW to identify aquifers used by the state’s permitted public water suppliers is greatly hindered by the lack of a comprehensive statewide aquifer or hydrogeological framework database and a standardized method of compiling and interpreting the necessary geological and water well construction data records.