Groundwater Publications

Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet

Numerous publications, posters and maps have been prepared regarding groundwater quality in Kentucky. The scope and detail of these reports vary with the specific topics and regions discussed.

Groundwater Maps

The Kentucky Karst Atlas Maps show karst spring basins that were determined primarily by groundwater tracer studies. These maps are designed for regional and preliminary hydrogeological investigation, and can be used to quickly identify karst basins and the springs to which a site may drain. The maps also serve as a geographic index to literature on karst investigations in each area. All tracer data displayed are available as GIS files that can be downloaded from the Kentucky Geography Network.

Groundwater Programs

Driller Certification Groundwater Protection Monitoring and Assessment Wellhead Protection

Additional Resources

Drinking from Roadside Springs Nonpoint Source Pollution

Search for GW Data

KY Geoportal (GIS data)Search using keywords "groundwater," "tracer," or "well" for various groundwater-related GIS data KY GW Data RepositoryInformation about the data repository Groundwater DataDirect link to search for groundwater quality data Well and Spring DataDirect link to search for records and location information

Regional Maps

Groundwater Sensitivity Regions of Kentucky [7.99 MB]

Authors: Joseph A. Ray, James S. Webb and Phillip W. O'dell

Release Year: 1994

Karst Atlas

Mapped karst groundwater basins in the Louisville 30 x 60 minute quadrangle [44.6 MB]

Authors: Joseph A. Ray, retired, and Robert J. Blair (Division of Water) and James C. Currens, retired (Kentucky Geological Survey)

Release Year: 2018

Mapped karst groundwater basins in the Corbin 30 x 60 minute quadrangle [22.9 MB]
Authors: James C. Currens and Randall L. Paylor (Kentucky Geological Survey), Robert J. Blair (Division of Water), and William (Bill) Walden

Release Year: 2018

Mapped karst groundwater basins in the Tompkinsville 30 x 60 minute quadrangle [113.1 MB]

Authors: James C. Currens and Randall L. Paylor (Kentucky Geological Survey), Robert J. Blair (Division of Water), and William (Bill) Walden

Release Year: 2018

Mapped karst groundwater basins in the Elizabethtown 30 x 60 minute quadrangle [16.1 MB]

Authors: James C. Currens (Kentucky Geological Survey) and Robert J. Blair (Division of Water)

Release Year: 2016

Mapped karst groundwater basins in the Hopkinsville 30 x 60 minute quadrangle [12.3 MB]
Authors: James C. Currens (Kentucky Geological Survey) and Joseph A. Ray, retired, Phillip W. O’dell and Robert J. Blair (Division of Water)

Release Year: 2015

Mapped karst groundwater basins in the Somerset 30 x 60 minute quadrangle [24.3 MB]

Authors: James C. Currens and Randall L. Paylor (Kentucky Geological Survey) and Joseph A. Ray, retired, and Robert J. Blair (Division of Water)

Release Year: 2011

Mapped karst groundwater basins in the Tell City and part of the Jasper 30 x 60 minute quadrangles [17.6 MB]

Authors: Joseph A. Ray, retired, Jack R. Moody, retired, and Robert J. Blair (Division of Water) and James C. Currens and Randall L. Paylor (Kentucky Geological Survey)

Release Year: 2009

Mapped karst groundwater basins in the Harrodsburg 30 x 60 minute quadrangle [26.0 MB]

Authors: James C. Currens and Randall L. Paylor (Kentucky Geological Survey) and Joseph A. Ray (Division of Water)

Release Year: 2003

Mapped Karst Groundwater Basins in the Lexington 30 x 60 minute quadrangle [15.3 MB]

Authors: James C. Currens and Randall L. Paylor (Kentucky Geological Survey) and Joseph A. Ray (Division of Water)

Release Year: 2002

Mapped Karst Ground-Water Basins in the Bowling Green 30 x 60 minute quadrangle [7.20 MB]

Authors: Joseph A. Ray (Division of Water) and James C. Currens (Kentucky Geological Survey)

Release Year: 2000

Mapped karst ground-water basins in the Harrodsburg 30 x 60 minute quadrangle [7.32 MB]

Authors: James C. Currens (Kentucky Geological Survey) and Joseph A. Ray (Division of Water)

Release Year: 1998

Mapped karst ground-water basins in the Somerset 30 x 60 minute quadrangle [3.63 MB]

Authors: James C. Currens (Kentucky Geological Survey) and Joseph A. Ray (Division of Water)

Release Year: 1998

Mapped karst ground-water basins in the Beaver Dam 30 x 60 minute quadrangle [5.86 MB]

Authors: Joseph A. Ray (Division of Water) and James C. Currens (Kentucky Geological Survey)

Release Year: 1998

Mapped Karst Ground-Water Basins in the Campbellsville 30 x 60 Minute Quadrangle [6.43 MB]

Authors: Joseph A. Ray (Division of Water) and James C. Currens (Kentucky Geological Survey)

Release Year: 1998

Groundwater Studies

Groundwater Reports

Report on the Condition of Ambient Groundwater in Kentucky: Analysis of the Ambient Groundwater Quality Monitoring Network Data [3.6 MB]

Authors: Caroline Chan, PhD and Robert J. Blair, P.G.

Release Year: 2018

Investigation into Sinkhole & Depression Flooding, Oak Grove, Kentucky [1.5 MB]
Authors: Rob Blair and John Shuttleworth

Release Year: 2002

Investigation of Laura Spring in the Raven Run Watershed, Fayette County, Kentucky [444 KB]
Author: Gary A. O'Dell

Release Year: 1998

An Inventory of Public and Semipublic Water Supply Springs [1.3 MB]
Release Year: 1991

Water Well Study of the Calvert City Area, Kentucky: Marshall, Livingston, and McCracken Counties [10.8 MB]
Release Year: 1988

Nonpoint Source Groundwater Studies

Many of these reports generally attempt to distinguish between naturally occurring constituents in groundwater and manmade impacts. However, there is an overlap of manmade and naturally occurring contaminants. These include, but are not limited to, bacteria, nitrogen compounds and suspended solids.

Several projects were administered in order to assess nonpoint source pollution impacts to groundwater in Kentucky.

NPS GW Basin Reports

BMU1	Expanded Groundwater Monitoring for Nonpoint Source Pollution Assessment in the Kentucky River Basin [3.8 MB] Authors: James S. Webb, Jolene M. Blanset and Robert J. Blair Project Period: Oct 1996 - Oct 2004 Assessment of Nonpoint Source Impacts on Groundwater Quality in South Elkhorn Creek Basin, Central Kentucky [3.2 MB] Authors: Robert J. Blair, Joseph A. Ray, James S. Webb, Jolene M. Blanset and Peter T. Goodmann Project Period: Nov 2003 – Jun 2009
BMU2	Expanded Groundwater Monitoring for Nonpoint Source Pollution Assessment in the Salt and Licking River Basins [4.6 MB] Authors: James S. Webb, Jolene M. Blanset and Robert J. Blair Project Period: Dec 1998 - Jun 2002 Groundwater Assessment for Nonpoint Source Pollution Impacts and Spring Basin Delineations within Sub-watersheds of the Salt River Basin: Beargrass Creek and Sinking Creek [12.8 MB] Authors: Robert J. Blair and Joseph A. Ray Project Period: Apr 2004 - Mar 2009
BMU3	Regional Groundwater Quality in Watersheds of the Upper Cumberland, Lower Cumberland, and Lower Tennessee Rivers, and the Jackson Purchase Region ( Kentucky River Basin Management Unit 3) [4.5 MB] (see also http://kgs.uky.edu/kgsweb/olops/pub/kgs/water/RI15_12/index.html) Authors: R. Stephen Fisher and Bart Davidson (Kentucky Geological Survey) and Peter T. Goodmann (Division of Water) Project Period: Jul 2005 – Oct 2007 Integrated Surface Water and Groundwater Assessment of Large Springs in the Western Pennyrile Karst Region of Kentucky [9.6 MB] Authors: Robert J. Blair, Joseph A. Ray, Phillip W. O’dell, Bryan S. Marbert and Peter T. Goodmann Project Period: Jan 2008 – Oct 2013
BMU4	Expanded Groundwater Monitoring For Nonpoint Source Pollution Assessment in the Green and Tradewater River Basins [4.1 MB] Authors: Phillip W. O'dell, Jolene M. Blanset, Robert J. Blair and James S. Webb Project Period: Dec 2000 – Oct 2006 Integrated Surface Water and Groundwater Assessment of Large Springs in the Green River Basin (BMU4, Round 2) [6.5 MB] Authors: Robert J. Blair, P.G., Joseph A. Ray, P.G. (ret), Phillip W. O'dell, P.G., Bryan S. Marbert and Peter T. Goodmann Project Period: Jan 2005 – Oct 2010
BMU5	Groundwater Quality in Watersheds of the Big Sandy River, Little Sandy River, and Tygarts Creek (Kentucky Basin Management Unit 5) [6.3 MB] (see also https://kgs.uky.edu/kgsweb/olops/pub/kgs/RI19_12.pdf) Authors: R. Stephen Fisher and O. Barton Davidson (Kentucky Geological Survey) and Peter T. Goodmann (Division of Water) Project Period: Nov 2002 - Sep 2003 Expanded Groundwater Monitoring for Nonpoint Source Pollution Assessment in the Elkhorn Creek Sub-basin of the Big Sandy and Tygarts Creek River Basins [2.7 MB] Authors: Phillip W. O'dell, P.G., James S. Webb, P.G., Jolene M. Blanset, Caroline Chan, PhD Project Period: Jan 2006 - Dec 2010
Multi- Basin	Summary and evaluation of Groundwater Quality in Kentucky Basin Management Unit 3 (Upper Cumberland, Lower Cumberland, Tennessee, and Mississippi River basins) and 4 (Green and Tradewater River basins) [2.2 MB] (see also https://kgs.uky.edu/kgsweb/olops/pub/kgs/of_04_04.pdf) Authors: R. Stephen Fisher and O. Barton Davidson (Kentucky Geological Survey) and Peter T. Goodmann (Division of Water) Project Period: Mar 2000 - Jun 2004 Groundwater Quality in Watersheds of the Kentucky River, Salt River, Licking River, Big Sandy River, Little Sandy River, and Tygarts Creek (Kentucky Basin Management Units 1, 2, and 5) [15.6 MB] (see also https://kgs.uky.edu/kgsweb/olops/pub/kgs/RI16_12.pdf) Authors: R. Stephen Fisher and O. Barton Davidson (Kentucky Geological Survey) and Peter T. Goodmann (Division of Water)

NPS GW Other Reports

Identification and Prioritization of Karst Groundwater Basins in Kentucky for Targeting Resources for Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention and Abatement [12.2 MB]

Authors: Joseph A. Ray, Phillip W. O'dell, Jack R. Moody, Jolene M. Blanset and Robert J. Blair

Project Period: Jan 1997 - Dec 2004

Assessment of Nonpoint Source Pollution Impacts on Groundwater in the Headwaters of the North Fork of the Kentucky River Basin [4.1 MB]

Authors: Phillip W. O'dell, James S. Webb and Peter T. Goodmann

Project Period: Jan 1998 - Jun 2004

Sources and Occurrences of Nonpoint-Source Chemicals in Groundwater, Jackson Purchase Region, Kentucky [1.9 MB]

Authors: R. Stephen Fisher and E. Glynn Beck, (Kentucky Geological Survey)
Project Period: Apr 2005 - Oct 2005

Karst Groundwater Tracer Tests and Basin Delineation, Wayne and Clinton Counties, South Central Kentucky [6.3 MB]
Authors: Robert J. Blair, P.G., and Sean M. Vanderhoff
Project Period: Oct 2013 - Apr 2017

​Groundwater Maps

Groundwater Programs

Additional Resources

Search for GW Data

​Groundwater Studies

Nonpoint Source Groundwater Studies

Groundwater Maps

Groundwater Studies