Bluegrass water safe to drink according to Kentucky's Division of Water

kentucky energy equation

With all the hub-bub coming from the current administration concerning the environmental conditions of coal states like ours, you'd think Kentucky would have some of the crummiest water in the nation.

Alas, not the case.

According to recent research from the Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection's Division of Water, the drinking water of denizens of the Bluegrass State in fact does not contain a level of heavy metals - like chromium and arsenic - that can contribute to cancer. After studying 12 years of data from 2000 through 2012 for all public water systems in the commonwealth, R. Bruce Scott, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection, concluded that Kentucky's drinking water is "safe and of high quality."

“The DOW study was prompted in part as a result of recent studies that have suggested that exposure to elevated levels of heavy metals like arsenic and chromium in Appalachia contributes to the region’s high cancer mortality rates,” Scott said, elaborating on recent studies out of West Virginia implying coal mining communities are at greater health risks. “Because of these expressed concerns, the agency conducted an extensive analysis of the quality of drinking water in all of Kentucky’s public water systems across the commonwealth."

Seeing as how nearly 40 mining permits and more than 4,000 mining jobs are being held up by the EPA due to alleged Clean Water Act violations, this new study demonstrating the cleanliness of Appalachian waterways should outrage Kentuckians.