Meeting/Event Information

Come and join us for an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of Greater Cincinnati Water Works and discover the legacy of one of the region’s most vital public utilities. Municipally owned and operated since its purchase by the City of Cincinnati in 1839, GCWW has long been a national leader in water quality research and treatment technology.

On the tour, you’ll learn how GCWW delivers more than 43 billion gallons of water each year through 3,100 miles of water mains, serving more than 1.1 million people across Cincinnati, Hamilton, Butler, and Warren counties—and even extending service to Boone County and Florence, Kentucky via a pipeline beneath the Ohio River.

Discover how GCWW tests water more than 600 times a day—from source to tap—to ensure it meets or exceeds all state and federal health standards. Don’t miss this opportunity to explore the history, innovation, and infrastructure that keep our region flowing.

Age Requirement: 18 and up, no exceptions.

Tour consists of:

• The pump house and its history, beginning at ground level before the structure was lowered by hand to 105 feet below grade.
• The engine house, which is the boiler house that supplied steam to the engines, along with the coal storage area and riverside coal handling dock.
• The pump pit floor where you will stand among the four engines as they rest on 20-foot-thick wood caisson, six feet under the floor of the Ohio River.
• The great pump chamber that moved a staggering 30,000,000 gallons of water every day for 57 years.

Tour Guidelines
Please arrive 10 minutes early.

Tour begins promptly at 9:30 a.m.
Requirements

Children are not permitted on this tour.

All participants must be 18 or older. 

All participants must complete a waiver.

This is a secure and active facility. Participants 
must have a photo ID to present at the guarded 
entrance gate.

Closed-toe and closed-heel shoes required. 
No sandals, flip-flops, or Croc-type shoes 
are permitted. 

Long pants are recommended (shorts are 
permitted when temperatures are high). 
Please note: There is no AC or heat in some 
areas. Indoor temperatures average between 
55°F (winter) and 85°F (summer)

Participants do NOT need hard hats or 
safety glasses. 

Please inform us ahead of time if anyone in your 
party has a fear of heights, confined spaces, easily 
becomes light-headed, or has vertigo.

Smoking is NOT permitted inside the facility.

Photography is encouraged in the museum area; 
however, photography will be limited to specific 
places during the tour. 

Video or audiotaping during the tour is 
NOT permitted.

Handbags, backpacks, or briefcases are not 
encouraged on the tour. These items should be 
left in visitors’ vehicles.

Food and drinks will not be provided and are NOT
permitted inside the facility