The Division of Water (DOW) issues permits and approvals for a variety of water-related activities.

See the links in the navigation bar to the left for access to information about specific permits and directions for how to acquire or download them.  The sites below provide specific information on wastewater permitting:

Dam Construction - Applicable statutes, regulations and contact information.

Drinking Water Plans Review - For construction permits for new or upgraded water treatment plants, public and semipublic water treatment systems and distribution of water from a treatment plant.

Floodplain Construction - Information on obtaining a permit to construct along a stream, applicable statutes and regulations, publications and contact information.

Wastewater Construction - State regulation 401 KAR 5:005 requires that a permit be issued by DOW prior to start of construction on wastewater treatment or conveyance systems.

Wastewater Discharge - All discharges to waters of the commonwealth require a Kentucky Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (KPDES) permit.  See this Web page for a list of specific permit applications or for access to a list of all KPDES discharge permit applications.

Whole Effluent Toxicity - The Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) program is managed by the Surface Water Permits and Watershed Management Branch of Kentucky DOW. Staff provide technical review of all self-monitoring reports conducted by the regulated community for compliance, as well as Toxicity Reduction Evaluations (TREs).

Water Quality Certification - Anyone proposing to conduct activities that result in physical disturbances to wetlands or streams may need a Water Quality Certification (WQC) to ensure Kentucky water quality standards will not be violated.  This site contains information about obtaining a WQC and other program requirements.

Water Withdrawal Permitting - The water withdrawal program governs all withdrawals of water greater than 10,000 gallons per day from any surface, spring or groundwater source, with certain exceptions.

Wild Rivers Permits - Several types of permits are required for activities that may impact a designated Wild River corridor, including changes of land use, utility right of way construction, timber harvesting and others.