You will need to call in advance BUD (Before You Dig) 1-800-752-6007 or 811 and They will contact all the utilities in your area that are members of the Kentucky Underground Protection Agency (the Plant Board is a member) and notify them to mark their services within 48 hours.

THERE ARE   KENTUCKY COLOR CODES FOR MARKING UTILITIES

RED              -  ELECTRIC POWER LINES
YELLOW      - GAS, OIL, PETROLEUM
ORANGE     - COMMUNICATIONS
BLUE            - WATER 
GREEN         - SEWER& DRAIN LINES
PURPLE       - CABLE TELEVISION 
PINK              - SURVEY 
WHITE           - PROPOSED EXCAVATION

Remember:  the Water Department locates only our water mains and our service lines.

Call 352-4372 and ask for customer service or go to our downtown office at 317 West Second Street and ask for customer service.

Leaky toilets, faucets, showers and pipes can account for larger water bills. Also extra people in the home than normal or filling a swimming pool or watering your lawn or gardens. 

Toilets, put a dozen drops of food coloring in the tank part of your toilet and without flushing see if the water changes color in the bowl within an hour.  If so, check the water level in the tank tube to see if it's running over the top of the tube and the flap for leakage at the bottom of the tank.  A faucet or shower head can increase your water bill.  Look to facts about water.   Check crawl spaces and wet basements along with looking for damp areas in your yard or areas that are brighter green.  Sometimes we have seen hoses left on for long periods of time.

It may well be your hot water heater tank, which has a dip tube that extends from the top of the tank to near the bottom. This is usually a non-metallic dip tube and becomes brittle and as the pieces break away, the tube cracks apart and these particles collect as you use your outlets and appliances.  In most cases the tank has to be replaced.

Low pressure can occur in your home for a variety of reasons.  Sometimes there may be a water main break that will be a temporary loss of pressure.  But, should your low pressure continue you might have a leak or a shut off valve that may need to be checked or a pressure reducing unit working incorrectly.  Lots of times people get pressure and flow of water confused.  Some water lines have good pressure but the flow in the lines  have been restricted due to build up in the line, which causes less water at an outlet when more than one outlet is open at the same time.  If you need assistance call 352-4501.

Call 352-4501, our 24-hour service telephone number.

Utility easements are strips of land used by utility companies to construct and maintain water, electric, sewer, telephone, cable underground and overhead.  The property owner owns all of the land, including the utility easements, however, utilities have a right to access that portion of land which has been designated a utility easement.

Utility easements are usually created at the time a plat for a new development is designed.  Utility easements almost always exist along streets and along rear lots lines and sometimes between lots.

It is important to keep easements clear so they can perform routine and construction work because right of way easements have the power to do what it takes to maintain the utility.

These meters are for lawn irrigation and agriculture purposes.  The Water Department can install these but, you will need a letter from the Frankfort Sewer Board exempting you from sewer charges and then you will need to see our Customer Service Department Representative at our Downtown Office at 317 West Second Street.  The cost is $400 for a 5/8” meter, $500 for a 1” agricultural meter and check for other details when applying for these types of meter services.

The water departments line responsibility ends at the water meter.

The milky or cloudy look is really tiny air bubbles.  This usually occurs when water is turned off then on in mains or in your house.  Sometimes, it just happens when the weather is colder and the water is cooler than the lines are in a warm house.  These tiny bubbles of oxygen gas will release in a few seconds.  Just set the glass of water down and watch the cloudy, milky appearance disappear and become clear as it vaporizes.

In some homes where older pipes are still in use or when a fire hydrant is being flushed this color appears at times due to extra iron that is exposed into the water by a disturbance.  While the water is safe, it doesn't look pleasant.  Usually by running your water for a few minutes it should clear, if not call 352-4501 and we will check it out.

Chlorinated water is harmful to fish if it comes into direct contact with their bloodstream.  There are dechlorinating agents at most pet stores that you can purchase and read the instructions carefully to determine how much to use when you fill or partially fill your aquariums with water.

Chloramine is a disinfectant that helps keep your drinking water safe and bacteria free.  It inhibits the formation of unwanted chemical by-products and diminishes taste and odor problems associated with chlorine.

You can call 352-4501.  Before you call, you can ask yourself these questions.

1. Does this happen every time you turn on the faucet and is it only in one place or others. Does it happen every time or just certain times (for example: maybe just mornings or evenings)?
2. Do my neighbors have this problem?
3. Have you had any plumbing work done recently?
4. Do I have little usage during the day, if so, always run your water for 30 seconds to ensure that water that may have set in the lines for awhile is gone.
5. Sometimes water that has a low flowing usage will develop an unpleasant odor, sometimes described as flat or stale.
6. Sink traps that holds water to keep sewer smells from reaching out from drains sometimes become sour and will need to be flushed or add baking soda to them to prevent odor.  These odors may be unpleasant, but not harmful.
7. Sometime the water heater, when the flow is from little usage and sits dormant, will give off a rotten egg smell until ran.