Big Muddy Speaker Series presents:
"A History of Water Pollution in Kansas City"
We all interact with the Big Muddy on a daily basis through the infrastructure of pipes, pumps, and treatment plants. This has been a constant dynamic in Kansas City from the first drainage pipe in OK Creek to the recent decisions concerning Combined Sewer Overflows and Stormwater Management. Our uses of the river and our attitudes have changed with time.
John Dunn will share a short history of how our city grew, and how our water infrastructure grew with it. The Clean Water Act brought about big changes in the national picture and Kansas City was no exception. He will talk about the basics of our current water and waste water systems and the water issues facing the KC Metro.
Meet Your Presenter
John Dunn
, EPA Engineer
John Dunn, is an EPA Engineer with over 25 years of water experience. The mission of the United States Environmental Protection Agency is to protect human health and the environment.
Related Presentations
Resources & Links
- Previous Big Muddy Speaker Series - "Kansas City's Sewer System" by Lara Isch, KC Water Services, March 2014
- "Drinking Water's Murky Past" - Kansas City Water Services.
- HISTORY - "Source to Tap - A History of Missouri's Water Supplies" by Loring Bullard, Watershed Committee of the Ozarks
- ARTICLE - "In fertile Mo. floodplain, farmers scratch their heads over EPA proposal" - by Annie Snyder, Greenwire, July 16, 2014.
- ARTICLE - "The Big Muddy Used To Be Our Landfill - and other Historic Trash Facts" by Carolyn Szczepanski, Pitch Weekly, April 23, 2009
- RESEARCH - "Water Quality in the Blue River Basin, Kansas City Metropolitan Area, Missouri and Kansas, July 1998 to October 2004" - by USGS, August 2006
- FOR TEACHERS - "KC to the Sea" - Curriculum on stormwater pollution by KC Water Services
- SCIENCE - Missouri Water Resource Center - USGS
The Big Muddy Speakers Series in Kansas City
is hosted by these wonderful partners!
- Little Blue River Watershed Coalition
- Friends of Lakeside Nature Center
- Missouri River Relief
- Healthy Rivers Partnership
- Kansas City Digital Video
Thanks to all of our venue hosts for making this possible! Click here for a list of upcoming presentations» The Big Muddy Speaker Series is also held monthly in Rocheport and St. Charles.
Recordings of Presentations
Kansas City Digital Video has been recording Big Muddy Speaker Series presentations. These are available on their website at this link. Some contain synchronized powerpoint presentations. We will be posting these to the archived presentation pages on bigmuddyspeakers.org. Thanks Micheal Morgan and crew for putting this important archive online!
Upcoming Presentations
Leave No Trace Training on the Barge
October 14, 2026St. Louis, MO
Join us for a special Big Muddy Speaker Series on the Living Lands & Waters Barge where Perry Whitaker will lead us in a Leave No Trace Training.
See Event
Missouri River Relief: 25 Years on the Big Muddy
November 10, 2026Columbia, MO
Join us for a journey through time celebrating 25 years of Missouri River Relief's work on the Big Muddy.
See Event
Plastic Pollution, Gulf Hypoxia, and Water Quality
November 11, 2026St Charles, MO
Jennifer Wendt from MidAmerica Clean Future guides us through understanding regional water quality challenges.
See Event