Upcoming in Kansas City, Mo.
“A History of Water Pollution in Kansas City”
Presentation by John Dunn, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
John Dunn will share a short history of how our city grew, and how our water infrastructure grew with it. He will talk about the basics of our current water and waste water systems and the water issues facing the KC Metro.

An aerial view of Kansas City in 1869.
Presentation by John Dunn, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
Watch video of this presentation here. (produced by KCDV – see more BMSS videos here)
Where – Westport Coffeehouse Theater – 4010 Pennsylvania Ave. Kansas City, MO
6 p.m. – Social Hour
7 p.m. – Presentation. Presentation will be filmed – After 7 PM, Please enter through Green Room Burgers
PLUS – This presentation audio will be streaming live on KCDV.tv!
(See past videos here)
Presentation is FREE and open to the public!
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.
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.
Directions
Westport CoffeeHouse – 4010 Pennsylvania Kansas City, Mo – www.westportcoffeehouse.com
The Westport CoffeeHouse is in the Westport entertainment area, midtown KC, south of downtown and north of the Plaza. The main intersection is Westport Rd and Broadway. From this intersection, go west on Westport Rd one block to Pennsylvania. Turn north (right).
OR you can get there from the intersection of Southwest Trafficway and Westport Rd. Go east on Westport Rd to Pennsylvania. Turn north (left).
Westport Coffee House is approximately one block down on the west side of Pennsylvania. Parking can be had either south of the coffee house in the large parking lot or just north of the coffee house alongside the building. Enter through Green Room Burgers or Westport CoffeeHouse.
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!