Horse Cave Water System, KY
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 6.66 ppb (monitoring period 2026-2026). The federal action level is 15 ppb today and drops to 10 ppb in Nov 2027; EPA's health goal is 0. Lead was measured in sampled homes but the 90th percentile is under both action levels. EPA's health goal for lead is zero, so test your own tap if your home was built before 1986 or anyone in it is pregnant or a young child.
Horse Cave Water System at a glance
Horse Cave Water System serves about 2,744 people through 1,243 service connections, which makes it a small system under EPA's size classes. It is privately owned and draws surface water, in Hart County, Kentucky. EPA system ID: KY0500476; phone on file: 270-528-6292. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Horse Cave Water System's lead record
That is up 2.53 ppb from 4.13 ppb in the period ending 2025. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Horse Cave Water System is 6.66 ppb across 3 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 6.66 ppb |
| 2025 | 4.13 ppb |
| 2025 | 4.7 ppb |
How Horse Cave Water System compares
Of the 367 Kentucky systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 0 ppb; 0 are over 15 ppb right now and 4 have gone over at some point. Horse Cave Water System's 6.66 ppb sits at the 98th percentile in Kentucky and the 94th nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Hart County
2 other systems share Hart County; 0 of them have a higher latest lead result than Horse Cave Water System. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Green River Valley Water District | 17,431 | 3 ppb |
| Munfordville Water Dept | 2,109 | 0.75 ppb |
Next steps for Horse Cave, KY
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Horse Cave, KY may offer free or low-cost kits through the utility. If your own line is lead, replacing the private side runs about $1,200-$12,300 (EPA average about $4,700). Ask Horse Cave Water System whether it covers that cost before hiring anyone - many utilities now do.
These figures describe homes the utility sampled, not your tap. Only your service line record or a test of your own water answers the question for your house. What a 90th-percentile result does and does not tell you: how to read a lead result. The action level is dropping - the 10 ppb rule from 2027.