Photoionized outflows in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are thought to influence their circumnuclear and host galactic environment. However, the distance of the outflow with respect to the black hole is poorly constrained, which limits our understanding of the kinetic power by the outflow. Therefore, the impact of AGN outflows on their host galaxies is uncertain. If the density of the outflow is known, its distance can be derived. Density measurement via variability studies and density sensitive lines have been used, albeit not very effective in the X-ray band. Good measurements are rather demanding or challenging for the current generation of (grating) spectrometers. The next generation of spectrometers will certainly provide data with better quality and large quantity, leading to tight constraints on the location and the kinetic power of AGN outflows. This contribution summarizes the state-of-the-art in this field.

We present a search for OH maser emission in galaxies hosting H2O masers with the 100-m Effelsberg radio telescope and the Green Bank Telescope (GBT). This survey is aimed at investigating the apparent rarity and/or possible mutual exclusion of megamaser emission from OH and H2O in the same galaxy. Our study establishes new and better upper limits on the OH maser luminosity. Our work duplicates the number of H2O masers searched for OH emission. No new maser detections have been found. OH absorption, both in the 1667 and 1665 MHz transitions, is instead detected in two galaxies of the sample, IC342 and NGG5793.