Louisville Water’s educational campaign to highlight water’s role in economic development

Louisville Water is raising awareness about the importance of a high-quality, reliable water supply to Kentucky’s economic health.

The “Water Grows KY” campaign highlights water’s vital and often unexpected role in Kentucky’s top industry sectors – agriculture, distilling and brewing, education, health care and manufacturing.

“People easily understand water’s relationship to public health and to their personal well-being, but what may be less understood or even taken for granted is water’s important role in our economy,” said Kelley Dearing Smith, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Louisville Water. “Whether its jobs created by water utilities or our industries that rely on water for their daily operations, our economy couldn’t thrive without this vital resource.”

The average school uses over 22,000 gallons of water each day. Bourbon distilling, which accounts for nearly $9 billion of economic output in the state, would come to a crashing halt without water to malt, mash, and dilute the spirit. And agriculture, which makes up half of the Commonwealth’s total land acreage, requires a constant and dependable supply of water to survive.

“Companies looking to relocate or expand in Kentucky used to focus on location, location, location as the three things that matter in selecting property. Water, sewer and electric have become equally important criteria,” said Kim Huston, President of the Nelson County Economic Development Agency. “Businesses need to know that the infrastructure is in place for them and having an abundant water supply is something all communities need to prioritize today.”

The Water Grows KY campaign kicked off with a presentation at the Third Annual James B. Beam Institute Industry Conference in Lexington and will be featured at industry events scheduled throughout 2022.

Learn how water grows Kentucky at WaterGrowsKY.com.