Water

Kansas City’s Blue River Biosolids Facility is using an innovative wastewater treatment process to convert sewage into energy and fertilizer while cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

Some Kansans are spooked by data centers as the likelihood of the state hosting more big tech facilities is rising. One positive to all the hullabaloo? Heightened civic engagement early in local proceedings.

A project to divert water away from the Missouri River in North Dakota has sparked a new fight in a decades-long conflict about how to manage the river’s water in times of drought.

Across the central U.S., nitrate from crop fertilizer and livestock facilities is seeping into water underground. Many family wells are no longer safe to drink from without pricey treatment.

With the 1% earnings tax secured until at least 2031, Kansas City now looks ahead to negotiations with the Royals, looming bond measures for water and housing, and the possible referendum to eliminate Missouri’s income tax.

Many Midwest residents distrust their tap water. Some purchase water and ice from standalone kiosks. University of Iowa researchers found at least trace levels of lead in most of these kiosks.

Cities are grappling with how to proceed concerning the increase in data centers in Missouri. New legislation would require water permits for large-load consumers, and make them pay for grid infrastructure upgrades needed to provide them electricity.

KC Water will use nearly $2 million in new state funding to search for lead pipes in historically disadvantaged neighborhoods, starting this spring in Lykins and Columbus Park.

Environmental advocates say the outlined revision ignores science and threatens water quality, while farm groups argue it offers landowners needed clarity about which parts of their land count as federally protected.

Groundwater in western Kansas is a precious commodity. Hays and Russell are back in court to defend a plan to transfer water from a ranch in another county.

A volunteer-led Stream Team is using kits to test their local waterways quarterly for phosphorus, ammonia and nitrogen, and survey for small aquatic species, such as clams, snails and insect larvae. Otherwise, funding cuts means that nobody is looking out for Missouri's water health.

Next year, Kansas City’s only drinking water treatment plant will celebrate its 100th birthday. It’s a milestone worth applauding, for sure, but it’s also a reminder that the city has only one place where it makes clean water.