Upcoming in Kansas City, Mo.
A Pictorial History of Early KC Water on the Missouri and Kansas Rivers – 1910-1930
Presentation by Shaun O’Kelley, P.E. Division Engineer, Kansas City Water Services, Wastewater Treatment
Using the archived photographs from water department records, Shaun O’Kelley will present a short history of early Kansas City water and KC’s dependence on the Missouri and Kansas Rivers.

A view of the 1926 Kansas City Water Plant. photo courtesy of KC Water Services.
Presentation by Shaun O’Kelley P.E. Division Engineer, Kansas City Water Services, Wastewater Treatment
Tuesday, August 22, 2017
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!
The presentation is a short history of the KC Water Department from 1910 to about 1930 and the water department’s work on the Missouri and Kansas rivers.
Using the archived photographs from water department records, Shaun O’Kelley will present a short history of early Kansas City water and KC’s dependence on the Missouri and Kansas Rivers. From Gumbo Point and QuindaroB end to the 1926 treatment plant and the tunnel under the Missouri River. Lots of Historic Photos.
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Shaun O’Kelley is P.E. Division Engineer, Kansas City Water Services, Wastewater Treatment Division and has been with Kansas City Water Services for 28 years, the last 20 as design engineer, project manager and incineration trainer for wastewater treatment.
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
Dig deeper for more info on this topic.
- KC Water Services Website
- “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
- FOR TEACHERS – “KC to the Sea” – Curriculum on stormwater pollution by KC Water Services
- SCIENCE – Missouri Water Resource Center – USGS
Related Big Muddy Speaker Series Past Presentations
- “History of Water Pollution in Kansas City” – John Dunn, EPA (with video),
- “Drinking the Big Muddy” – Mike Klender, KC Water Services (with video), Sept. 22, 2015
- “Kansas City’s Sewer System – ‘Where We’ve Come From and Where We’re Headed'” – Lara Isch, KC Water Services (with video), March 12, 2014
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
- Lights On – KCK
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!