An Upcoming Plan to Help Kansas with Wastewater and Stormwater Overflows
The U.S. Department of Justice and the EPA have approved a decree that will give the Unified Government (UG) of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kan., four years to develop a sustainable plan and implementation schedule for integrated overflow control.
The newly approved decree will help Kansas deal with overflows in its wastewater and stormwater systems. UG will be responsible for creating improvements that are both sustainable and affordable. Once the plan is approved, approximately $20 million will be used in the wastewater infrastructure developments.
"More and more cities are turning integrated solutions that address water, wastewater and stormwater in a well-planned and coordinated manner, we can no longer afford to address water quality issues and regulations separately, and we must take a broader approach that integrates multiple water quality solutions for the same investment," said John Mitchell, practice director for Burns & McDonnell, UG’s program manager.
To help combat pollution from stormwater runoff and sewer system overflows that are often created by heavy rainfall, municipalities are becoming increasingly subject to EPA mandate. Overflow problems typically arise during wet weather when sewage and stormwater exceed its system capacity. Burns & McDonnell will be working with UG’s outdated infrastructure to design a plan to reduce sewer overflows while improving sanitary sewer systems.