Upcoming in Kansas City, Mo.
Kansas City’s Sewer System – “Where We’ve Come From and Where We’re Headed”
Presentation by Lara Isch, Kansas City Water Services
Lara Isch, Water Quality Educator for Kansas City Water Services, will discuss the history of Kansas City’s combined and separate sewer systems, the development of the federally mandated Overflow Control Program and how the program aims to improve water quality and reduce sewer overflows over the next 22 years.

As part of the Middle Blue River Basin Green Solutions Pilot Project, curb extension rain gardens like this were installed to store excess stormwater runoff from streets. Photo courtesy of KC Water Services.
Presentation by Lara Isch, Water Quality Educator for Kansas City Water Services
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
New Location! Westport Coffeehouse Theater – 4010 Pennsylvania Ave. Kansas City, MO
6 p.m. Social Hour
7 p.m. Presentation
Click here to download flier (pdf)

One of Kansas City’s 90 remaining combined sewer outfalls during a wet weather overflow event
Work has begun on an unprecedented 25-year, $2.5 billion project to reduce overflows from Kansas City’s combined and separate sewer systems. Kansas City’s largest ever infrastructure project, it is utilizing a laundry list of green surface projects to reduce stormwater as well as underground infrastructure to separate combined sewer systems.
Lara Isch, Water Quality Educator for Kansas City Water Services, will discuss the history of Kansas City’s combined and separate sewer systems, the development of the federally mandated Overflow Control Program and how the program aims to improve water quality and reduce sewer overflows over the next 22 years.
She will also discuss the results of the Middle Blue River Basin Green Solutions Pilot Project, step one in the Overflow Control Program.
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.
Downloads
Resources and Links
- Click here to download presentation flier (pdf)
- Info on Overflow Control Program (KC Water Services)
- Video: “Kansas City, Missouri’s Middle Blue River Basin Green Solutions Pilot Project”– posted by GOforKC
- Research: “Character and Trends of Water Quality in the Blue River Basin – 1998-2007” – US Geological Survey
- Article: “Getting Control”, June 2010, Municipal Sewer & Water Magazine
- Article: “Using Green to Make Blue: KCMO’s Plan to Reduce Combined Sewer Overflow ” – by Bridging the Gap
- Article: “Seeing Green: Green Infrastructure Pilot Provides Valuable Lessons for KCMO” – WaterWorld Magazine
- Article: “Kansas City’s Green Solutions Pilot Project Brings Success to the Surface for Combined Sewer Overflows” – October 2012 issue of Stormwater journal
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
- Friends of Big Muddy
- Big Muddy National Fish & Wildlife Refuge
- 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! The Big Muddy Speaker Series is partially funded by the Columbia Ecological Services Field Office (USFWS) and the Mo. Dept. of Conservation.