An upcoming business trip to Dallas prompted me to find out what the water story is in that region of Texas to see how it compares to Louisville’s. As a Louisville Water Company employee (and a communication guru), that’s something typical for me to do.

The facts and figures were eye-opening as I discovered that Dallas’ water story is pretty much the exact opposite of Louisville’s. It’s clear that Louisville Water’s abundant, affordable product is something lacking in North Texas where water conservation is not just an environmentally smart thing to do but is more of a survival strategy.

Louisville Water customers are in the enviable position of having an incredible resource for drinking water.  More than 75 billion gallons of water flow by us in the Ohio River daily. That abundant supply means Louisville Water could double production almost overnight. In fact, reserve treatment capacity could supply 35 auto manufacturing plants.

In addition, Louisville Water scientists have mastered the processes required to take Ohio River water and transform it into a resource that has a taste that is not just adequate but superior. In fact, Louisville’s water is so well regarded for its taste that it’s been trademarked as Louisville pure tap®.

In my research on Dallas, a first sign that the water story there is vastly different from ours is Dallas Water’s website address: savedallaswater.com. The utility works hard to educate its customers about the need to reduce water use, providing water conservation email updates to keep the knowledge flowing.

The region’s need to keep a tight rein on water use is evident as Dallas has a water conservation ordinance that spells out water use guidelines.  As usually is the case when a resource such as water is in short supply, Dallas Water customers have experienced steep rate increases. An April 2015 article by the Advocate of Lakewood/East Dallas cited statistics that the cost of Dallas water for residents jumped by 89 percent in a 12-year period. While conservation efforts had resulted in a 16 percent reduction in water use between 2002 and 2014, according to the Advocate, Dallas Water’s price per 1,000 gallons rose from $4.58 in 2002 to $8.67 in 2014.

In contrast, most Louisville residents today pay $2.54 per 1,000 gallons. That’s a drastic cost difference!

Louisville Water’s affordability, abundance and high quality is a water story I’m proud to tell. Our product is a prized resource of great value to all of our customers — from homeowners to owners of large industrial facilities.

And that story is one that I will tell on my upcoming trip to Dallas next week for Kentucky United’s next economic development excursion.

Kentucky United, a consortium of economic developers from government and business, takes the commonwealth’s story on the road to meet with a variety of business types from company officials to site selectors who want to learn what Kentucky has to offer.

I will not only have the chance to tell Louisville Water’s story, but I will share Louisville Water’s product with event attendees, who also will hear about Kentucky’s burgeoning bourbon industry. So, it will be a nice pairing of bourbon and branch with the telling of two great Kentucky stories — complemented by tasting the products, too.

Article written by Kelley Dearing Smith, Vice President of Communications and Marketing for Louisville Water Company.