Louisville Water Company

What Louisville Water Company does

Louisville Water Company is a government-owned municipal water utility serving nearly one million people across the Louisville metropolitan area, Jefferson County, Bullitt County, and Oldham County, Kentucky. Founded in 1860 and operating continuously for over 160 years, the utility delivers approximately 138 million gallons of drinking water per day through 4,300+ miles of pipe and a portfolio of two treatment plants—Crescent Hill and B.E. Payne. Its core technical asset is a riverbank filtration system pioneered at the B.E. Payne plant: a 1.5-mile gravity tunnel 150 feet below the surface parallel to the Ohio River, with wells drawing naturally filtered water through sand and gravel. This was the world's first utility-scale combination of a gravity tunnel with wells for drinking-water production and won the 2011 ASCE Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award. Current capital projects include a Crescent Hill PAC system upgrade for PFAS removal (begun February 2026), a multi-year Crescent Hill Reservoir Relining Project (begun June 2025), dual 24-inch residual lines (begun March 2025), and the 130-year-old Oak Street main replacement (begun July 2024), alongside an ongoing program replacing 35+ miles of aging mains annually.

The utility's branded product, Louisville Pure Tap®, is the first and only trademarked tap water in America and has won multiple American Water Works Association taste awards (2008 Best Tasting Tap Water in America; 2013 and 2024 People's Choice). Revenue is generated primarily through tiered, usage-based water sales to residential, commercial, industrial, and medical customers, supplemented by fixed domestic service charges, service activation and deposit fees, temporary meter rentals, hydrant flow testing ($300 per test), and partnership-based add-on products including HomeServe home repair plans and the WaterPro Water Leak Protection Plan. Louisville Water also bills on behalf of the Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) for wastewater, stormwater, and Consent Decree surcharges. Distribution is multi-channel: the Pure Connect online portal (powered by Paymentus), phone/IVR, walk-in customer service centers in Louisville and Shepherdsville, retail payment partners (CVS, Walgreens, Kroger, Dollar General, Walmart), and a Service Applications Department handling new meter installations. The customer base is highly fragmented across roughly 50,000 pre-1950 service-line properties (focus of an EPA/Kentucky Infrastructure Authority-funded Lead Service Line Replacement Program benefiting 47,000+ Jefferson County customers) and a diverse commercial segment, with no individually material revenue concentration.

As a public entity, Louisville Water Company is owned by the City of Louisville and Jefferson County, governed by the Board of Water Works, and not privately held or venture-backed; revenue is not publicly disclosed, though monthly expenditure reports and annual reports are published for transparency. The organization employs over 400 people across headquarters (550 South Third Street, Louisville), a Shepherdsville satellite office, and the two treatment plant sites. Customer satisfaction is high—94% rate water quality positively, 92% consider Pure Tap safe, and 9 of 10 customers believe the company meets its quality goals. Its strategic posture is dominated by regulated, capital-intensive infrastructure renewal funded through a mix of rates, EPA Bipartisan Infrastructure Law grants, and Kentucky Infrastructure Authority financing, with brand and community-engagement investments reinforcing its positioning as a civic institution rather than a growth-stage enterprise.

Name

Louisville Water Company

Legal name

Louisville Water Company

Website

https://louisvillewater.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1860

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Louisville Water Company is a government-owned municipal water utility founded in 1860 that delivers 138 million gallons of drinking water daily through 4,300+ miles of pipe to nearly one million people across Louisville, Jefferson County, Bullitt County, and Oldham County, Kentucky, operating two treatment plants with award-winning Louisville Pure Tap® branded water.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Municipal Water Utility Services

NAICS

Water, Sewage and Other Systems (2213), Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (22131), Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (221310), Utilities (221)

SIC

Water Supply (4941)

akta.pro primary industry

Raw Water Conveyance & Transmission (Aqueducts, Mains, Pumping Stations) (EUANAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Water Supply & Wastewater Utilities Administration (BPAIACAG), Water Systems & Treatment (Pumps/Boilers/Water Heaters/Filtration) (IMAIABAK)

Keywords

• Municipal water utility
• Drinking water service
• Water treatment
• Water distribution
• Utility customer service

Headquarters

HQ city

Louisville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Water Sales: Tiered billing structure with domestic service charge covering costs to maintain, repair, and replace 4,300 miles of pipe. Consumption charges at varying rates ensuring essential usage is most cost-effective. Residential customers average 12 cons (1,000 gallons each) per billing period.
2. MSD Billing Services: Louisville Water bills on behalf of Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District for wastewater, stormwater, and drainage services. Includes Consent Decree Surcharge, Wastewater Service Charge, Wastewater Volume Charge, and Stormwater/Drainage Charge.
3. Temporary Meter Rentals: Short-term water meter rentals for construction projects, landscaping, filling swimming pools, and outdoor events. Deposits of $600-$1000 and $2 daily fee plus usage charges.
4. Service Fees: $30 Service Activation Fee for new services and transfers, $100 Service Deposit based on Experian Utility Score.
5. Home Protection Plans: Revenue from HomeServe home repair plans and WaterPro Water Leak Protection Plan offered through partnerships.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Louisville Water Company is a municipal drinking-water utility that treats water from the Ohio River using a proprietary riverbank filtration system and two treatment plants (Crescent Hill and B.E. Payne), then delivers it through 4,300 miles of pipe to nearly one million residential, commercial, industrial, and medical customers across Louisville and surrounding counties. The company also operates the Pure Connect customer portal, leak and home repair protection plans, hydrant flow testing, temporary meter rentals, lead service line replacement, and the trademarked Louisville Pure Tap® brand.

Product overview

Louisville Water Company operates as a municipal water utility providing drinking water to nearly one million people in Louisville and surrounding counties. The core product is Louisville Pure Tap®, an award-winning branded drinking water that undergoes 200+ daily quality tests. The service portfolio includes the Pure Connect℠ customer portal for bill payment and usage tracking, alongside complementary services such as the WaterPro Water Leak Protection Plan℠, HomeServe Home Repair Plans, AutoPay, Quick Pay, and the Drops of Kindness bill assistance program. Infrastructure services include the Lead Service Line Replacement Program (free for qualifying properties), Main Replacement & Rehabilitation Program, Cross-Connection Control Program, Fire Hydrant Maintenance Program, Hydrant Flow Testing, and Temporary Water Service Meters. The company also provides educational resources including Tapper's Big Adventure classroom programs and maintains public-facing tools like the Service Line Inventory lookup tool and Annual Water Quality Report.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ginny on the Job: A video series featuring Ginny, a Louisville Water employee with more than 20 years of experience, helping homeowners navigate water-related tasks through short tutorials on topics like leak detection and finding water shutoff valves.
• Tapper's Big Adventure
• Pure Spout® Filter System

Products and services

• Louisville Pure Tap® Drinking Water Service Core drinking water service supplied to residential, commercial, industrial, and medical customers in Louisville and surrounding counties; award-winning and trademarked as Louisville Pure Tap®, undergoing 200+ daily quality tests and recognized with multiple American Water Works Association Best Tasting Tap Water awards.
• Pure Connect℠ Customer Portal Self-service online portal for customers to view and pay bills, set up AutoPay, make one-time Quick Pay payments, track water usage, and manage account information without registering an account.
• WaterPro Water Leak Protection Plan℠
• Temporary Water Service Meters Short-term water meters for construction projects, landscaping, filling swimming pools, and outdoor events; available in 3/4 inch and 1.5 inch sizes with deposits from $600 to $1,000 plus a $2 daily fee and bi-monthly usage charges.
• Hydrant Flow Testing
• WaterPro Water Leak Protection Plan Leak protection service covering excess water charges arising from qualifying leaks, complementing HomeServe interior and exterior plumbing repair plans; offered through partnership with Louisville Water Company.
• HomeServe Home Repair Plans Interior and exterior plumbing home repair plans covering repairs from normal wear and tear, offered through partnership with HomeServe USA Repair Management Corp.
• Drops of Kindness Bill Assistance Program Bill assistance program customized to help customers resolve unpaid bills and reduce future financial obligations.
• Main Replacement & Rehabilitation Program Infrastructure program that replaces or rehabilitates over 35 miles of aging water mains annually to improve water quality, reduce main breaks, and maintain system pressure.
• Lead Service Line Replacement Program Free replacement of lead or galvanized steel private water service lines for qualifying customers; funded by the EPA Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and serving over 47,000 customers in Jefferson County.
• Cross-Connection Control Program Program requiring backflow prevention device installation and testing to ensure barriers exist between the public water supply and potential pollutants in customer plumbing.
• Fire Hydrant Maintenance Program Annual maintenance program servicing over 24,000 fire hydrants from April through October to ensure sufficient flow for firefighting.
• Lead Test Kits Water quality test kits mailed to customers to help determine whether lead or galvanized steel service lines exist on their properties.
• Pure Spout® Filter System Point-of-use water filtration system offered to customers for improved water quality at the tap.
• Service Line Inventory Public lookup tool enabling customers to check water service line material records; covers approximately 50,000 properties built before 1950.

Quantifiable outcome

• 138 million gallons of Louisville Pure Tap provided each day to customers
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• HomeServe USAcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHomeServe offers affordable interior and exterior plumbing home repair plans to Louisville Water customers. Commercial agreement between Louisville Water and HomeServe USA Repair Management Corp. HomeServe covers repair costs while WaterPro covers excess water charges from qualifying leaks.
• Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLouisville Water bills on behalf of MSD for wastewater, stormwater, and drainage services. Includes Consent Decree Surcharge, Wastewater Service Charge, Wastewater Volume Charge, and Stormwater/Drainage Charge.
• Kern's KitchenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured in Made with Pure Tap series. Uses Louisville Pure Tap for Derby-Pie production since 1954.
• Gravely Brewing Co.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured in Made with Pure Tap series. Uses Pure Tap for craft beer production.
• Rabbit Hole DistilleryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured in Made with Pure Tap series. Uses Louisville Pure Tap for bourbon production - critical ingredient free of iron and sulfur.
• Elixir KombuchaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured in Made with Pure Tap series. Uses Louisville Pure Tap for kombucha production.
• Rivergreen CocktailsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured in Made with Pure Tap series. Uses Louisville Pure Tap for canned cocktail production.
• Community Partner BusinessesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerVarious businesses hosting touchless bottle-filling stations and Pure Tap partnerships. Visitors to these locations have helped save over 7.5 million plastic bottles from going to landfill. Includes local attractions and businesses promoting hydration.
• U.S. Environmental Protection AgencycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEPA provides funding through Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for lead service line replacement program. Louisville Water received financing from EPA and Kentucky Infrastructure Authority for infrastructure maintenance and public health improvements. Benefits over 47,000 customers in Jefferson County.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• American Water Works Company: Largest investor-owned water and wastewater utility in the United States, serving over 14 million people across 14 states. Operates regulated water treatment and distribution systems analogous to Louisville Water, but with multi-state footprint, public-company governance, and capital markets access Louisville Water lacks.
• Essential Utilities: Multi-state water and natural gas utility (formerly Aqua America) serving roughly 5 million people across 10 states with regulated water treatment, transmission, and distribution. Comparable business model in core water utility operations with investor-owned flexibility versus Louisville Water's municipal status.
• California Water Service Group: Investor-owned water utility serving approximately 2 million people across California, Hawaii, Washington, and New Mexico. Comparable regulated water treatment and distribution operations with investor-owned governance, providing a publicly traded proxy for Louisville Water's regulated utility economics.

Direct peers

• DC Water: DC Water (District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority) is a comparable large municipal water and wastewater utility serving the District of Columbia and surrounding jurisdictions with similar scale of operations, governance structure (independent authority), and regulated rate-setting analogous to Louisville Water.
• Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District: Louisville MSD is Louisville Water's billing and operational counterpart for wastewater, stormwater, and drainage services in the same service area. Operates the complementary half of the water cycle with shared billing infrastructure and combined rate exposure for Louisville-area customers.
• Nashville Metro Water Services: Nashville Metro Water Services is a comparable municipal water and wastewater utility serving approximately 200,000 customers in Nashville-Davidson County. Operates under similar municipal governance with combined water/wastewater mandate and similar scale of treatment/distribution infrastructure.
• SJW Group: Water utility holding company operating San Jose Water and Connecticut Water, serving approximately 1.5 million people. Comparable regulated water treatment and distribution economics with publicly traded corporate structure versus Louisville Water's municipal ownership.
• San Francisco Public Utilities Commission: SFPUC is a comparable large municipal water utility serving San Francisco and surrounding Bay Area communities, including Hetch Hetchy-sourced surface water treatment and regional distribution infrastructure. Similar municipal governance, regulated rate-setting, and complex watershed management profile.

Regional players

• Cincinnati Water Works: Cincinnati Water Works is a municipally owned water utility serving Greater Cincinnati across the Ohio River from Louisville. Operates with similar scale, river-based source water treatment, municipal ownership model, and EPA-regulated compliance profile to Louisville Water.
• Kentucky American Water: Investor-owned subsidiary of American Water Works serving approximately 130,000 customers in central Kentucky including Lexington and surrounding counties. Comparable water treatment and distribution operations within the same state regulatory environment but with investor-owned capital structure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/louisvillewater
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/louisvillewater
• Facebookfacebook.com/louisville-water-company
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/louisville-water-company
• Instagraminstagram.com/louisvillewater

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Louisville Water Company