About Us

Environmental Services (KCKES) staff are passionate about serving our community and our environment. KCKES employs more than 100 people in a variety of careers including engineering, construction, administration, computer science, accounting, business, environmental science, and biology. Those careers are separated across multiple segments of KCKES:

• Over 20 operators effectively manage the disinfection process.
• Around 10 lab technicians use a variety of tools to test water samples so that they meet standards.
• Over 30 sewer maintenance crew members are hard at work to inspect and maintain our sewer lines every day.
• Around 20 construction crew members work on major and minor sewer repairs to ensure the reliability of our sewer system.

KCKES welcomes new, talented people who are interested in joining the team. Checkout Careers for open positions.

Environmental Services team members work to fulfill the mission and uphold the values of the Public Works Department.

Our Mission

To provide the safest, most reliable, and efficient public works systems and services through a culture of continuous improvement by developing and recruiting public servants at all levels with bold ideas and selfless character.

Our Values

1. Positive culture – we do our business of delivering essential services to our community with energy, selflessness, and seamless teamwork.
   
   
2. Great service – take great care to treat all customers with a high level of professionalism, respect, empathy, and to be prudent & honest stewards of public funds.
   
   
3. Smart investment – utilize verified data and information to optimize public and private funds to strategically do the work of the community and to make objective recommendations to the elected and appointed officials.

At Water Pollution Control, we support wastewater and stormwater infrastructure for nearly 170,000 residents. From wastewater treatment to flood reduction, our team maintains the infrastructure that captures and cleans water in our community. Here’s an overview of our infrastructure:

• 5 wastewater treatment plants:
  1. Kaw Point Wastewater Treatment Plant
  2. Wastewater Treatment Plant 20
  3. Wolcott Wastewater Treatment Plant
  4. Wastewater Treatment Plant 14
  5. Wastewater Treatment Plant 3
• 76 wastewater pump stations
• 9 flood pump stations
• 20 miles of flood control levees
• 1,100 miles of wastewater and stormwater sewers
• Tell me more about our wastewater treatment process.
• Tell me more about our Sewer Investment Program.

Combined Sewer System

Like many other municipal sewer systems, the system in Kansas City, Kansas has a system with both combined and separate sewer systems. A combined sewer system is a single sewer system that carries both wastewater and stormwater in one pipe to the nearby treatment plant.

A separate sewer system is one that carries either wastewater or stormwater, but not both.

Water Pollution Control (WPC) effectively manages all assets and facilities to meet various state and regulatory requirements, which serve to protect public health and our environment. We treat our wastewater to properly remove 95-99% of wastewater pollutants before returning clean water to the Missouri River.

Like many communities nationwide, the Unified Government has an aging sewer system that requires continuous maintenance. Older portions of our system function as a combined sewer system, meaning pipes carry both wastewater and stormwater. Learn more about combined and separate sewer systems in the Infrastructure Overview accordion above.

Sewer Investment Program

The Clean Water Act of 1972 provides combined and separate sewer systems regulations. The UG has been working to reduce overflows and better meet those regulations. Most recently, WPC is rolling out its Sewer Investment Program. The Program was created from an agreement (a Consent Decree) with the Environmental Protection Agency to outline specific improvement projects. The Program spans 25 years and requires a total investment of approximately $900 million. This investment will provide you with more efficient, reliable, and sustainable sewer infrastructure, meet Clean Water Act regulatory requirements, and, most importantly, meet the needs of our community at a reasonable cost to ratepayers.

Before reaching our current consent decree with the EPA, the UG worked under a partial consent decree to make improvements at the Kaw Point Wastewater Treatment Plant. Improvements included biosolids dewatering to meet air quality regulations and the construction of a UV disinfection facility to reduce effluent bacteria concentrations into the Missouri River.

• Partial Consent Decree(PDF, 1MB)
• Stipulation of Settlement(PDF, 120KB)
• Integrated Overflow Control Plan Approved with Conditions(PDF, 462KB)

Stormwater Runoff

Our stormwater runoff picks up pollutants such as trash, debris, pesticides, oils, and dirt that can harm our waterways. The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) stormwater program regulates some stormwater discharges from three potential sources:

• Municipal separate storm systems (MS4s)
• Construction activities
• Industrial activities

The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, must obtain an NPDES permit before discharging stormwater to local waterways. The MS4 permit requires the Unified Government to report the status of compliance with permit conditions, assess the appropriateness of UG’s best management practices, and explain progress toward achieving measurable goals for each of the six minimum control measures. Our MS4 permit is regulated by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). Additionally, we have a Stormwater Management Plan (SMP) regulated by the EPA and KDHE. The SMP includes public outreach, construction site runoff control, industrial activity management, and a wet weather monitoring program.

Learn More About Stormwater