The contamination of water supplies by fecal bacteria is an important water quality issue in Kentucky. Contamination may come from point sources, such as straight pipes depositing raw sewage into streams, or nonpoint sources, such as manure runoff from cropland. A direct cost of contaminating water supplies is the expense that homesteads or water companies incur to chlorinate, filter, and otherwise treat water to make it potable. Indirect costs are the time lost to illness from drinking inadequately treated water, slower weight gain in livestock drinking contaminated water, and the degradation of aquatic habitats.