Utility Providers in Louisville, OH

In Louisville, we don’t just have “tap water”, we have a brand. The Louisville Water Company is so proud of its filtration process that they actually trademarked the name “Pure Tap.” It’s consistently ranked as some of the best-tasting water in the country, so you can skip the bottled water and the expensive filters.

This is the most common shock for new residents. Your bill from the Louisville Water Company actually includes charges for MSD (Sewer and Drainage). Louisville has a combined sewer system, and a large chunk of your bill goes toward the “Clean Water Next” initiative to prevent overflow into the Ohio River. You are also billed for “Surface Drainage” based on how much pavement/roofing is on your property.

Louisville merged its city and county governments years ago, but the utility rules stayed different. If you live in the USD (Downtown, Highlands, Germantown), the city picks up your trash and recycling for “free” (paid via taxes). If you are in the suburbs (GSD), you have to call a private company and pay a quarterly fee. If you aren’t sure which you are, check the Louisville Junk Drop-off map online.

In the Urban Service District, you get specific “Junk Set Out” dates three times a year. You’ll get a bright postcard in the mail telling you when you can put old couches or appliances on the curb. If you miss that window, you have to drive it yourself to the Outer Loop Landfill or the waste reduction center on Meriwether Ave.

Louisville is a very “leafy” city. During our frequent spring thunderstorms, the canopy in neighborhoods like St. Matthews or Crescent Hill often takes out power lines. We highly recommend downloading the LG&E app; it has a very accurate outage map that tells you exactly how many “crews” are working on your specific block.

Since many Louisville homes are 100+ years old, they aren’t always the most energy-efficient. LG&E offers a Free Home Energy Analysis where a technician comes to your house and gives you a kit with LED bulbs, high-efficiency showerheads, and weatherstripping. It’s a great “welcome to the neighborhood” perk that can save you 10-15% on your winter heating bills.

Google Fiber initially selected Louisville as an expansion city and attempted to install fiber rapidly using “nano-trenching” (cutting shallow grooves into paved streets). The shallow trenches degraded quickly, leaving exposed wires and damaged asphalt. In 2019, Google Fiber completely ceased operations and exited Louisville, leaving AT&T Fiber and Spectrum as the two primary high-speed wired providers across town.