Water heater and appliance leaks in Lexington
A water heater in the basement, a washer upstairs, an ice maker line behind the refrigerator: inside-the-house leaks are slow or sudden, and often found late. In Lexington they also come with hard water and two separate bills that each handle a leak differently.
Referral service, not a contractor. Your request goes to an independent Lexington-area restoration company. We do not do the drying or repairs.
When the tank or the hose gives way
- Stop the water. For a water heater, close the cold-water inlet valve on top of the tank. For anything else, or if that valve will not turn, close the main shutoff in the house. Kentucky American Water's winter tips, published by the City, say it is often in a utility room, a closet, the basement or the crawlspace.
- Cut the energy to the heater. Switch off the breaker for an electric unit, or set a gas unit's control to off. Do not stand in water to reach a panel.
- If you smell gas, leave. Columbia Gas of Kentucky's instruction is to go outside, call 911, then call the company at 1-800-432-9515.
- Leave the curb stop alone. Kentucky American Water's tariff says no one may turn water on or off at a street valve, curb stop or meter setting without the company's consent.
- Photograph the appliance, its label and the wet rooms before anything is moved.
What Lexington's water does to tanks and valves
Kentucky American Water's hardness fact sheet says its customers "typically receive hard to very hard water," 150 to 200 parts per million, and that it does not treat for or soften hardness. Its 2025 water quality report for the Central and Northern Division, which covers Fayette County, gives the figures for each plant.
ServesThe south half of Fayette County, Clark County and south Bourbon County.
HardnessAverage 161 ppm, about 9 grains per gallon. Range 60 to 340 ppm.
ServesMainly downtown Lexington within New Circle Road.
HardnessAverage 149 ppm, about 9 grains per gallon. Range 74 to 320 ppm.
ServesOwen and Scott counties and northern Fayette and Bourbon counties.
HardnessAverage 153 ppm, about 9 grains per gallon. Range 85 to 244 ppm.
Kentucky American Water, 2025 Annual Water Quality Report, Central & Northern Division (PWSID KY0340250), read November 9, 2026 from a Wayback Machine copy saved September 23, 2026. Hardness as CaCO3. The company notes the plants feed one interconnected system, so some areas get blended water.
Why it matters for a leak
On the company's own scale, 120 to 179 ppm is "hard" and anything over 180 is "very hard," so all three plants average in the hard band and each one's range reaches into very hard. The fact sheet says hardness can rise for short periods during dry weather and drop after rain or snowmelt.
The everyday sign is white scale: the fact sheet describes it as mineral buildup, usually calcium, left on glassware, faucets, showerheads and pipes as water evaporates. The same water fills your water heater, your washer valves and your ice maker line, so ask a plumber how it is treating them. A slow drip at a tank's drain valve or relief line is worth a look before it becomes a puddle.
If you soften
Softening is a personal choice, the company says. It lists the drawbacks it sees: more sodium, possible corrosion of some metal pipe materials such as lead, and the purchase, upkeep and extra water a softener uses. A softener is also one more appliance with water lines, a drain and a brine tank that can leak.
Not sure it is scale?
The fact sheet's three tests on a bit of the white residue: vinegar makes hard-water scale foam and dissolve, it usually sinks in a glass of water, and it crushes easily into powder.
Finding a leak you cannot see
Appliance leaks are often found late: the floor under a dishwasher goes soft, a ceiling stain appears under a second-floor laundry, a baseboard swells behind the refrigerator. The EPA's WaterSense program gives three checks that cost nothing to run.
- The meter test. Read your water meter, use no water for two hours, then read it again. If it moved at all, you probably have a leak.
- The winter bill. Look at a January or February bill. The EPA says a family of four using more than 12,000 gallons a month may have serious leaks.
- The toilet tank. A few drops of food coloring in the tank; color in the bowl after 10 minutes means a leak.
The EPA's Fix a Leak Week page puts it in proportion: an average household's leaks can waste more than 9,300 gallons a year, and nine percent of homes have leaks wasting 50 gallons or more a day. The EPA names worn toilet flappers, dripping faucets and other leaking valves as the common ones. The damage cases are the leaks that run inside a wall or under a floor where nobody sees them.
What a leak does to your Lexington bills
The water bill. Kentucky American Water's tariff has a service line leak adjustment, and it is narrow: the tariff defines a service line leak as a leak in the customer service line between the meter and the premises. The customer has to show a plumber's statement or list of materials proving the repair. The excess usage is then billed at 25 percent of the applicable tariff, an adjustment can cover at most two billing periods, and only two are allowed in a service line's lifetime.
The sewer bill. LEXserv, which bills Lexington's sanitary sewer charge, says customers with higher usage from a leak may be eligible for an adjustment, and its adjustments page has a leak adjustment request. For residential accounts it already bills May through October at the lower of actual use or the winter average, built from November through April, so a summer leak may already be covered. LEXserv: (859) 280-8047.
Kentucky American Water customer service, as listed in its 2025 water quality report: 1-800-678-6301, Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Where appliance water ends up in local houses
Water from an upstairs washer travels down through the floor framing and shows up in the ceiling below. A basement water heater soaks the carpet pad and the bottom of finished walls first. A kitchen leak on a crawl space house can run under the floor for weeks. Each needs a different approach, and the pages on basements, crawl spaces and water extraction cover them.
Typical national price ranges for clean-water drying are on the cost page.
Plumber for the leak, restoration for the house
A plumber replaces the tank, the valve or the hose. A restoration company finds where the water went with a moisture meter, opens what has to be opened and dries the rest. Ask both, at the start, who is hauling what away.
Bluegrass Dry-Out Referral does neither job. It is a referral service: a callback request is passed to an independent restoration company that covers your part of the Lexington area when one is taking work.
Leak questions
How hard is Lexington's tap water?
Kentucky American Water's 2025 report gives average total hardness of 161 ppm at Kentucky River Station, 149 ppm at Richmond Road Station and 153 ppm at Kentucky River Station II, each about 9 grains per gallon. The company's scale calls 120 to 179 ppm hard.
Will Kentucky American Water adjust my bill for a leaking water heater?
Its tariff's leak adjustment covers leaks in the customer service line between the meter and the premises, with a plumber's statement or list of materials showing the repair. Ask the company about anything else. The sewer side is separate: LEXserv takes leak adjustment requests.
How do I know if I have a hidden leak?
The EPA's test: read the water meter, use no water for two hours, and read it again. If the meter changes at all, the EPA says you probably have a leak.
Who takes away a flooded water heater in Lexington?
For households with city waste collection, water heaters are on the City's curbside special pickup list; request it through LexCall at 311. The plumber installing the new one may also take the old tank.