Archive: 2007

Releases

Black & Veatch to host students for rain garden and water engineering learn-in

Company to Award $500 Scholarships to Visiting Students

Kansas City, Mo. (June 12, 2007) – Black & Veatch is hosting a “Learn-in Day” for the Kansas City Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) crew on June 19 that includes interactive sessions on rain gardens and water engineering. The company will award $500 scholarships to each of the six 16- to 18-year-olds taking part in the “Learn-in Day” who complete the YCC program this summer.

The YCC program is co-sponsored by the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Full Employment Council. It provides summer projects for inner-city and minority youth that stress the importance of environmental conservation and research. One focus for the inaugural program this summer is to build four rain gardens throughout the Kansas City area.

“We’re glad to host these young people as they visit the first corporate rain garden in Kansas City,” said Dan McCarthy, President and CEO of Black & Veatch’s water business. “We’re planning hands-on sessions to introduce them to many aspects of rain gardens and other water engineering topics.”

McCarthy added: “We’d like to encourage them to consider environmental careers when they go to college, so we’re offering them a scholarship in addition to the $1,000 scholarship they’ll receive from AmeriCorps if they finish the summer program.”

The YCC members and their sponsors will take part in four interactive sessions on June 19 at the company’s 8400 Ward Parkway office:

Water Supply – Where does our water come from and how do we protect it?
Stormwater – How can we beneficially reuse stormwater to help prevent flooding and improve water quality, and what role do rain gardens play?
Drinking Water – Why is tap water safer than bottled and so much less expensive?
Wastewater – What does it take to return water to the environment in better shape than what we harvested from it?
“We’ll have taste tests, environmental puzzles, water engineering activities and a tour of the rain garden,” McCarthy said. “It will be educational, but it will also be fun.”

Along with the scholarship, each YCC member will receive educational materials and an mp3 music player that will be loaded with environmentally related songs. The scholarships will be awarded at a ceremony during a barbecue luncheon.

On June 18, the YCC members will also visit Hallmark’s headquarters in Kansas City to see an example of the recycling loop in action. Hallmark composts cafeteria food waste through Missouri Organic, and the resulting compost will be used as fertilizer on Hallmark’s rain garden when it is installed. The group will also tour the Missouri Organic facilities.

Rain gardens are sunken areas planted with native perennials that are specially designed to collect stormwater runoff and return it to the ground naturally and safely. According to recent research, properly designed rain gardens can effectively trap and retain a high percentage of common pollutants in urban storm runoff, which is designed to improve water quality.

Articles

Water21, Aug. 2006: Inundation Drives Innovation (PDF)

Municipal Sewer and Water, Sept. 2007: Storm: Rounding Up Runoff

WEF Highlights, July/August 2007: Planning for a Rainy Day (PDF)

ASCE In the Field: Aesthetic Approach to Stormwater Management (PDF)

Kansas City Star, Dec. 13 2006: KC Art Institute Rain Garden (PDF)

U.S. Conference of Mayors: KC 10,000 Rain Gardens Draw Citizens into Regional Fight Against Water Pollution (PDF)

KC Community News: July 11, 2007

Black & Veatch shares water science, rain gardens with K.C. youth

BY: Kellie Houx, Associate Editor

Black & Veatch hosted a “Learn-in Day” for the Kansas City Youth Conservation Corps crew that included interactive sessions about rain gardens and water engineering.

The company also awarded $500 scholarships to the six 16- to 18-year-olds taking part in the Learn-in Day who complete the YCC summer program.

The Missouri Department of Conservation and the Full Employment Council sponsored the YCC program June 19. The program provides summer projects for inner-city and minority youth that stress environmental conservation and research. This summer's inaugural program focuses on building four rain Kansas City area rain gardens, with the first in the Ivanhoe neighborhood.

“We're glad to host these young people as they visit the first corporate rain garden in Kansas City,” said Dan McCarthy, president and CEO of Black & Veatch's water business. “We're planning hands-on sessions to introduce them to many aspects of rain gardens and other water engineering topics.

“We'd like to encourage them to consider environmental careers when they go to college, so we're offering them a scholarship in addition to the $1,000 scholarship they'll receive from AmeriCorps if they finish the summer program.”

Kalan Walker, a Lincoln Prep graduate, said he jumped at the chance to work again with the Full Employment Council.

“I am excited to look at different career paths,” he said. “I am hoping to be inspired and find a major for college.”

Kalan said he learns something new daily with the corps.

“Being at Black & Veatch has shown me how we each affect the environment,” he said. “With the lessons today, I am even more interested in science. There are many, many jobs to be explored. I want to use my strengths in math and science.”

Kalan has been accepted to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. The other five participants are Nicholas Karr, Oak Park High School junior; Robert Barfield, Raytown South senior; Ryan Townsend, Center senior; Lonnie Smith, a Hickman Mills graduate who will attend Missouri Western in the fall; and Robert Brown, Paseo High sophomore.

During the four-hour stay at Black & Veatch, participants learned about water supply and storm, waste and drinkable water. Black & Veatch's global water business works to provide technology-based solutions for utilities, governments and industries worldwide.

Teachers for the event included engineers and scientists. Environmental scientist Devin Wilson said leading water contaminants come from roadway run-off. The high school participants considered the amount of rooftops and concrete near each of their high schools.

“The treatment of roads during the winter causes pollutants to enter our streams, creeks and rivers,” Wilson said.

He and water resources engineer Laura Adams talked about how urbanization and miles of concrete hamper water absorption. Adams said planting native plants in a rain garden allows for better rain water absorption.

“Some native plants will have roots that can go 6 feet deep,” she said. “That is helpful.”

Participants toured Black & Veatch's rain garden, the first corporate rain garden in Kansas City. The company broke ground on the garden in April 2006.

Barfield aided project engineers David Bunch and Brie Zicke-foose make waste water by creating a “garbage soup” of egg shells, potato peels, salad remains, detergents, leaves and dirt.

Bunch and Zickefoose talked about how water can be cleaned and disinfected.

Project engineers Bob O'-Bryan and Katie Funderburk showed how water moves from a river or well through a process that makes it fit for consumption.

They had the participants make a natural filter of sand, gravel and carbon.

“If anything happened today, I hope these students see how the impact on the environment im-pacts everyone,” Funderburk said.

O'Bryan said he liked engaging students with hands-on activities.

“If anything, we wanted to make it fun, engage them, maintain their interest and maybe inspire them,” Bunch said.

Black & Veatch Associate Vice President Clint Robinson said Youth Conversation Corps members are the future of water as they learn about how to help the local environment.

“No matter what, we have to do a better job in sustainable designs for construction, for all future projects,” Robinson said. “I hope the concerns you have will inspire you to help out.”

Each YCC member received educational materials and an mp3 music player that will be loaded with environment-related songs.

On June 18, YCC members visited Hallmark's headquarters in Kansas City to see an example of the recycling loop in action. Hallmark composts cafeteria food waste through Missouri Organic, and the resulting compost will be used as fertilizer on Hallmark's rain garden when it is installed.

Rain gardens are sunken areas planted with native perennials chosen specially to collect and return storm water runoff to the ground naturally.

Ryan said he enjoyed exposure to a variety of career ideas.

“I really like the idea of landscaping and getting my hands dirty,” he said. “I want to put my skills to work, but I know I will need more skills. I am taking advantage of programs that will be good experience and look good on resumes and college applications.

“I also like history. We have to know our past to help shape our future. I think we saw that with the water studies too.”

~~~

Water Environment Foundation - July/August 2007

Planning for a Rainy Day

Kansas City’s '10,000 Rain Gardens' Initiative Curbs Stormwater, Pollution

Rain gardens consist of native plants planted in shallow basins. The plants’ deep roots allow water to infiltrate the soil. A well-designed rain garden can trap and retain a significant percentage of pollutants common in stormwater runoff, thereby improving water quality, according to a news release from engineering, consulting, and construction company Black & Veatch (Kansas City, Mo.). 10,000 Rain Gardens educates Kansas City residents on how to plant their own rain garden and why it is important for the environment.

The initiative started a few years ago when members of KC-One, the city’s stormwater management program, had a conversation at the city’s stormwater steering committee meeting about engaging residents to work on stormwater issues.

“We were looking for a way to communicate with [residents] about their own issues and how they could help,” said Jeff Henson, director of water resources for Black & Veatch and KC-One project manager. The idea of a rain garden program came up as part of a brainstorming session at that meeting, and with Mayor Kay Barnes’ approval, the initiative went into effect with funding from KC-One, explained Henson.

In the past few years, 10,000 Rain Gardens workshops and educational programs have informed residents on the benefits of rain gardens, as well as how to plant and maintain one in their own yards. The initiative’s Web site, www.rainkc.com , offers many diagrams, downloads, a list and photographs of native plants, and other resources for both novice gardeners and green thumbs.

“It’s very much an information and awareness system,” said Scott Cahail, environmental manager for the Water Services Dept of Kansas City. “The Web site is by far the biggest tool to reach the most people. We’re well over 100,000 visits.”

Workshops offered to residents have been extremely popular. “We’ve sold each one of those out, with about 80 people at each,” Cahail said.

Although Cahail said he couldn’t gauge Kansas City’s water challenges in comparison to other urban environments, any measures citizens taken to help improve water quality and reduce stormwater runoff are beneficial.

“There are concerns, as there are in most urban situations, about water quality,” Cahail said. “Kansas City is actually a very large city, area-wise. And the Missouri River runs somewhat through the middle of it … there [are] a lot of challenges that come along with that.”

Cahail said a few streams that run through the city are prone to flooding and have caused flash flooding, resulting in human fatalities in the past. “Then you add in water quality issues and it’s ‘wow, we’ve got to sort this out.’”

Gardening Goes Corporate
The 10,000 Rain Gardens initiative got a boost from Black & Veatch, which has planted Kansas City’s first corporate rain garden, and now is upgrading the bioretention basin at its headquarters.

“We’re involved in a variety of projects to help government, utilities, and industry apply best management practices to improve drainage and manage urban runoff,” said Dan McCarthy, president and chief executive officer of Black & Veatch’s global water business. “Some stormwater management approaches necessitate substantial technology expertise, while others require the type of corporate leadership and environmental stewardship inspired by [this] initiative.”

About 100 Black & Veatch employees have picked up shovels and put on gardening gloves to help construct the office’s rain garden. The group is known as the Rain Garden Brigade.

“As this program got developed through the mayor’s office, our leadership got interested in it … and we opened up the program to volunteers within Black & Veatch who wanted to help plant our corporate rain garden, help maintain it, and also to commit to rain gardens at their own homes,” explained Henson.

Families of Black & Veatch employees have also pitched in to help with the corporate rain garden, added Linda Bond, media communications specialist for Black & Veatch Water.

This summer Black & Veatch is transforming the existing retention basin at its headquarters into a bioretention basin full of native plants.“[The plants] help the water to infiltrate” into the soil, Henson said. This is especially helpful during periods of frequent storms, he explained, as then less water is "discharged into the sewer system [and] the plants help remove some pollutants through uptake,” said Henson.

The office’s existing detention basin was built when the building was constructed in the late 1980s, explained Henson, “and at the time it was primarily to address flood control so that we weren’t increasing runoff from our site.” However, the retention basin wasn’t designed to help with water quality improvement. The addition of native plants will help increase the quality of water that runs off from the parking lot and other surfaces during wet weather events.

“We thought it would be a great idea to go back in and redesign that detention basin so that not only does it control the flood flows, but it also helps clean up the water before you discharge it,” Henson said.

At press time, the Black & Veatch bioretention basin was in the design phase. The company expects to complete the basin by the end of the summer.

~~~

Water World Online and Water Efficiency

Black & Veatch to host Kansas City learn-in

Company to award $500 scholarships to visiting students

KANSAS CITY, MO, June 12, 2007 -- Black & Veatch is hosting a "Learn-in Day" for the Kansas City Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) crew on June 19 that includes interactive sessions on rain gardens and water engineering. The company will award $500 scholarships to each of the six 16- to 18-year-olds taking part in the "Learn-in Day" who complete the YCC program this summer.

The YCC program is co-sponsored by the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Full Employment Council. It provides summer projects for inner-city and minority youth that stress the importance of environmental conservation and research. One focus for the inaugural program this summer is to build four rain gardens throughout the Kansas City area.

"We're glad to host these young people as they visit the first corporate rain garden in Kansas City," said Dan McCarthy, President and CEO of Black & Veatch's water business. "We're planning hands-on sessions to introduce them to many aspects of rain gardens and other water engineering topics."

McCarthy added: "We'd like to encourage them to consider environmental careers when they go to college, so we're offering them a scholarship in addition to the $1,000 scholarship they'll receive from AmeriCorps if they finish the summer program."

The YCC members and their sponsors will take part in four interactive sessions on June 19 at the company's 8400 Ward Parkway office:
• Water Supply - Where does our water come from and how do we protect it?
• Stormwater - How can we beneficially reuse stormwater to help prevent flooding and improve water quality, and what role do rain gardens play?
• Drinking Water - Why is tap water safer than bottled and so much less expensive?
• Wastewater - What does it take to return water to the environment in better shape than what we harvested from it?

"We'll have taste tests, environmental puzzles, water engineering activities and a tour of the rain garden," McCarthy said. "It will be educational, but it will also be fun."

Along with the scholarship, each YCC member will receive educational materials and an mp3 music player that will be loaded with environmentally related songs. The scholarships will be awarded at a ceremony during a barbecue luncheon.

On June 18, the YCC members will also visit Hallmark's headquarters in Kansas City to see an example of the recycling loop in action. Hallmark composts cafeteria food waste through Missouri Organic, and the resulting compost will be used as fertilizer on Hallmark's rain garden when it is installed. The group will also tour the Missouri Organic facilities.

Rain gardens are sunken areas planted with native perennials that are specially designed to collect stormwater runoff and return it to the ground naturally and safely. According to recent research, properly designed rain gardens can effectively trap and retain a high percentage of common pollutants in urban storm runoff, which is designed to improve water quality.

~~~

Revitatlization Online

Kansas City rain gardens aid in stormwater management

As part of the company's Earth Day activities on April 21, 2007, Black & Veatch professionals, along with their families and friends, celebrated the first anniversary of Kansas City's original corporate rain garden, which is affiliated with the city's "10,000 Rain Gardens" initiative.

The celebration ceremony at the rain garden, outside the office of Black & Veatch's water business in Kansas City, drew many local dignitaries and civic leaders, who joined the company volunteers in planting an additional 75 native plants.

Rain gardens—shallow basins or depressions planted with native plants—are catching on in Kansas City and the surrounding areas. The native plants have deep roots that allow water to infiltrate into the soil. According to recent research, properly designed rain gardens can effectively trap and retain a high percentage of common pollutants in urban storm runoff, potentially improving water quality and promoting the conversion of some pollutants into less harmful compounds.

The idea for the 10,000 Rain Gardens initiative was generated as part of the city of Kansas City's stormwater management efforts, with participation of its Stormwater Steering Committee. With Mayor Kay Barnes' adoption of the initiative, the program has been funded by Kansas City's comprehensive citywide stormwater management plan, called KC-One. Black & Veatch is the prime contractor for KC-One and has been active in the initiative by making various presentations, participating in training sessions, and assisting with a mayoral-appointed advisory panel of civic leaders.

The 10,000 Rain Gardens initiative links citizens, corporate sponsors, educators, and members of nonprofit organizations with government officials to take action on important environmental issues like water quality and stormwater flow. Planting 10,000 actual rain gardens in the Kansas City area during the next few years should reduce potential problems with water pollution and stream degradation.

"Black & Veatch has taken a corporate leadership role in the 10,000 Rain Gardens Initiative and has encouraged active participation by other local groups," said Dan McCarthy, president and CEO of Black & Veatch's water business.

For more information about the 10,000 Rain Gardens initiative, please visit www.rainkc.com or www.bvraingardens.com.

~~~

Construction & Maintenance: April, 2007

Black & Veatch celebrates anniversary of corporate rain garden

Black & Veatch professionals, along with their families and friends, on April 21, will celebrate the first anniversary of Kansas City's original corporate rain garden, which is affiliated with the city's "10,000 Rain Gardens" initiative. The event is in conjunction with annual Earth Day observances. Following the ceremony, Rain Garden Brigade members will plant an additional 75 native plants. This will bring to total number of plants at the rain garden to approximately 750.

Black & Veatch's Rain Garden Brigade is a group of volunteers who support the rain garden program by taking part in the company's activities or by building a rain garden at home. The company also plans to launch Phase II of the Rain Garden program this spring, which will include the upgrade of a bio-retention area between the company's two Ward Parkway buildings.

Rain gardens are sunken areas planted with native perennials that are specially designed to collect stormwater runoff and return it to the ground naturally and safely. According to recent research, properly designed rain gardens can effectively trap and retain a high percentage of common pollutants in urban storm runoff, which is designed to improve water quality.

In Johnson County, Kan., Black & Veatch is developing a rain garden with WaterOne at its new Phase V water treatment plant, scheduled for groundbreaking in April. Black & Veatch also provided support for a 5,500-square-foot rain garden design developed by the Kansas City Art Institute and its community partners to improve drainage at the Frank A. Theis Park.

~~~

House and Garden magazine, Feb. 2007 (PDF)

~~~

American City & County: March 1, 2007

Clean and Green

By Donald Baker, Les Lampe and Laura Adams

Public desire for open space that includes clean streams and lakes, along with more stringent federal environmental regulations, have prompted many communities to adopt environmentally friendly stormwater management methods. Rather than using the traditional practices of enclosing channels in pipes and draining wetlands, which often permanently alter the ecosystem and destroy habitats, alternative methods mimic natural landscape features to improve water quality and waterside environments.

Traditional stormwater practices typically decrease water quality because they do not include a natural ecosystem to assimilate pollutants. In addition, they tend to shorten flow paths, creating higher peak flows. Many communities face flooding issues as a result.

Environmentally friendly approaches to stormwater management are designed to resemble the natural functions that support habitats and protect water quality. In addition, they slow water flow and often detain it, which results in lower peak flows and less flooding.

Stream cleaning

Santa Monica, Calif., has adopted new stormwater management methods to improve its water quality. Situated on the Pacific Coast north of Los Angeles, the city is surrounded on all sides by other cities or by Santa Monica Bay, which collects all of the city's stormwater runoff. To protect the water quality of the bay, as well as the beauty of area beaches, the city has begun building additional stormwater treatment facilities to remove pollutants — such as organic compounds, metals and trash — from runoff before it reaches the beach. Because space is limited, the city is building the facilities underground.

One recently completed facility was built under a parking lot in a park owned and operated by Los Angeles. The Westside Water Quality Improvement Project, which treats stormwater runoff from a large portion of Santa Monica, was designed with no moving parts, chemical additives or electrical power requirements. “Urban runoff pollution is a major problem for our coastal waters, and this project is one big step in a long and continual process to ensure cleaner water and a healthier coastline, and to safeguard life,” says Santa Monica Senior Environmental Analyst Neal Shapiro.

The system is designed to remove chemicals, such as pesticides, as well as organic compounds from automobile emissions and other sources from stormwater runoff. While not its primary purpose, the facility may collect chemicals from accidental spills, preventing them from reaching the bay. Santa Monica currently is identifying other sites for similar treatment systems.

While Lenexa, Kan., is not as confined as Santa Monica and other cities, it has plenty of stormwater and must plan for its proper management now and in the future. In the late 1990s, Lenexa officials began adopting more stringent stormwater design criteria, a stream buffer ordinance, and erosion and sediment control ordinances. To raise money to pay for better stormwater management, the city created a stormwater utility and instituted a capital development charge, and residents approved a sales tax to fund construction of new treatment facilities that also could be used as recreational areas.

The city's stormwater quality efforts are primarily designed to manage nutrients and sediment — the main pollutants from residential areas that comprise the majority of the city's landscape. Nutrients attach to the sediment, and the sediment clogs streams and chokes out aquatic vegetation.

Lenexa is creating multi-use facilities that manage stormwater, prevent floods, improve water quality and provide recreational outlets for residents. The city displays information about watershed protection on signs throughout the park-like areas and uses environmentally friendly construction materials where possible.

Taking a holistic view

In Kansas City, Mo., as in many large cities, outdated stormwater infrastructure has inadequate capacity to carry runoff from large storms and to adequately treat it to meet current standards. A large portion of the city's stormwater infrastructure is in a combined sewer system that transports both stormwater and sewage. During heavy storms, increased runoff can cause overflows that discharge untreated sewage into area waterways.

To update the system and ensure it can handle future growth, local officials are reviewing the city's entire stormwater management program, including physical components as well as administrative and financial management procedures, to identify areas for improvement. In the months ahead, they will update existing flood control plans to reflect a holistic approach to stormwater management that involves flood control, combined sewer overflow reduction, water quality management and natural resource protection.

As part of the effort, Mayor Kay Barnes kicked off a program in November 2005 to encourage residents to plant rain gardens, which are shallow basins or depressions foliated with native plants that have deep roots that help water infiltrate the soil. The mayor's goal is for 10,000 rain gardens to be planted to demonstrate that if residents and businesses manage their own stormwater, peak flows to the city's infrastructure will reduce — as will costs for infrastructure improvements — and water quality in local streams will improve. The program also is raising residents' awareness of how their daily activities can affect stormwater runoff.

Nearby Mission Hills and Mission, Kan., also are addressing flooding issues, which have been caused by lack of regulations and upstream development that has generated more runoff. Mission Hills is an affluent community in the Kansas City metropolitan area in which residents frequently use public areas for walking, biking, jogging and relaxation. However, recent developments threaten to change the streamside corridors that residents have come to enjoy.

Development upstream of the city over the years has increased the amount of runoff channeled to area streams. Combined with aging stream channel walls and other infrastructure, the runoff is causing stream banks to fail, jeopardizing adjacent roads, water and gas mains, sanitary sewers, driveways and other property.

Rather than addressing each issue individually, city officials have begun studying the stream network in its entirety and searching for stormwater management practices that can improve large parts of the network at once. Numerous city staff as well as the planning commission, parks board and city council members are involved in the study. “This process has changed people's opinions on how city government manages its streams,” says Mission Hills City Administrator Courtney Christensen. “Instead of more limited city government involvement, people feel it is imperative that the city protect our important natural resources.”

As a result of the study, city officials will develop stream protection guidelines for buffers, landscaping and channel walls. They also will address land disturbance issues, lawn chemical applications, impervious lot coverage, and develop educational materials for residents. The measures will stabilize runoff from impervious areas and will protect — and eventually improve — the stream corridors by setting back human intervention and activities from streams. The buffers also will filter pollutants from the runoff before it enters the waterways.

Mission, Kan., began changing its stormwater management practices approximately three years ago, when costly floods prompted the city to complete large-scale flood control improvements and to redevelop its downtown area. As the city continues making improvements, it is incorporating environmentally friendly practices and stream restoration projects where they are feasible. City leaders now are looking for methods to decrease runoff and improve water quality citywide.

The city is conducting a study funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to identify locations for new treatment facilities and stream restoration projects. The project will provide a plan for constructing facilities and stream restoration projects that will improve the environment and the water quality of area streams. In addition, the study includes the development of a geographic information system tool that will identify suitable locations for the projects based on land use, topography and stream connections. The tool will select appropriate projects based on those parameters and on the stream quality. From there, cost estimates for project construction will be developed, and improvements will be prioritized for construction.

The city is working with Kansas State University to monitor the effects of the improvements. It also is constructing demonstration projects that will be monitored for their effects on water quality and will be used to help educate residents about the importance of managing stormwater in an environmentally friendly way.

Like Santa Monica, Kansas City and Mission Hills, many communities throughout the country are embracing environmentally friendly stormwater management methods because of the ecosystem improvements and social benefits they provide. Such holistic and “green” approaches aim to ensure that the natural beauty that residents enjoy does not disappear in the future.

Donald Baker is the central region water resources practice leader, Les Lampe is the water resources global practice leader, and Laura Adams is a water resources engineer for Kansas City, Mo.-based Black & Veatch.

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Kansas City Business Joural: January 18, 2007

Black & Veatch provides rainy-day solutions in Kansas City, Missouri

Linda Saiger Bond, Black & Veatch Corporation, Kansas City, Mo.

In early 2004, Black & Veatch was selected to work with the Kansas City, Mo., Water Services Department to develop a comprehensive citywide stormwater management program. Now in its final year, the integration of 35 subsystem planning studies into a single stormwater management program spans 320 square miles and requires extensive coordination among multiple cities and counties. Upon completion, the KC-One program will establish goals and priorities, provide timelines and schedules, and offer funding recommendations for stormwater.

The program is building consensus for common priorities and capital improvements, as well as garnering individual commitment through action by many. The mayor’s “10,000 Rain Gardens” initiative is supported through the KC-One program. Black & Veatch has been active in the initiative as well as the overall plan by making various presentations, participating in training sessions and assisting with a mayoral-appointed advisory panel of civic leaders.

The 10,000 Rain Gardens initiative was launched in 2005 to help citizens understand what individuals and organizations can do to effectively manage stormwater. Planting 10,000 rain gardens in the Kansas City area during the next few years is a green solution that will help improve the quality of water in local streams.

“Beyond enlisting individual and corporate commitment to action, Kansas City’s 10,000 Rain Gardens program provides an opportunity to educate the public about wet-weather issues in general and to build support for the city’s comprehensive wet-weather program,” said Black & Veatch Project Manager Jeff Henson.

Comprehensive Planning to Address Wet-Weather Woes

Numerous public surveys indicated the community supports a holistic approach to stormwater management that involves flood control, combined sewer overflow reduction, water quality management, natural resource protection and minimizing the adverse impacts from new developments. “KC-One offers a unique opportunity to shape the way that the city manages its watersheds and stormwater, both now and in the years to come,” said Water Services Department Director Frank Pogge.

The city invited all stakeholders, through an open and public process, to help formulate the vision, scope of work, and schedule for the development of the comprehensive citywide stormwater management program. The public participation component included numerous meetings and workshops. Results to date have included the development of initial recommendations regarding - policy development, public involvement, stormwater master plans, funding and implementation. Still in progress is the development of policies and procedures, an organizational and administrative plan, capital improvements and funding plans; and work to ensure compliance with various federal regulations.

Extensive work with the stakeholders and a specially formed community panel has already led to the development of some new policies and procedures that focus on protecting the city’s streams, managing new development and complying with stormwater quality regulations. In the months ahead, the city’s existing flood control plans will be updated to better reflect the new policies and views of the community. The updated plans will focus more on green solutions that preserve and protect the city’s streams. Ensuing evaluation of funding options and issues will yield a long-term funding plan that addresses the city’s capital, operating and maintenance needs for stormwater management.

Grassroots Efforts: On the Way to 10,000 Rain Gardens

On April 21, 2006, Kansas City’s Mayor Kay Barnes attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the first corporate rain garden affiliated with the city’s 10,000 Rain Gardens initiative. The ceremony took place at the 8400 Ward Parkway office of B&V Water, the water business of Black & Veatch.

A rain garden is a shallow basin or depression planted with native plants, which have deep roots that allow water to infiltrate into the soil. Research indicates that properly designed rain gardens can effectively trap and retain up to 99 percent of common pollutants in urban storm runoff.

“The 10,000 Rain Gardens initiative is one way to reach out to the community and engage the public in a proactive and creative solution to some of our wet-weather problems,” Mayor Barnes said in her keynote address. “Through this effort, Kansas City is already being recognized as a national role model in public involvement.”

Within the first few days after Black & Veatch announced its rain gardens program, nearly 100 Black & Veatch professionals had signed up to assist with the company’s rain garden or to plant rain gardens at their homes. A rain garden planted at the Kansas City home of Dan McCarthy, president and CEO of Black & Veatch’s water business, led the individual efforts.

“Black & Veatch looks for engineered and natural options to solve every problem we tackle by providing communities structural and non-structural solutions,” said McCarthy in his remarks preceding the groundbreaking. “Through our rain garden program and other parts of our KC-One program, we are demonstrating our commitment to Kansas City as we are ‘building a world of difference’ right where we live and work.”

~~~

Kansas City 10,000 Rain Gardens Draw Citizens into Regional Fight Against Water Pollution

January 22, 2007 - U.S. Conference of Mayors

An eco-friendly stormwater management initiative launched by Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes and other regional leaders in November 2005 is being heralded in the February issue of House & Garden magazine as “the most ambitious horticultural project in the United States.”

“10,000 Rain Gardens” is an effort by the city to encourage citizens to minimize stormwater runoff and improve water quality by capturing and filtering rain water in rain gardens, which are shallow depressions planted with native prairie plants, as well as rain banks (barrels) that save rain for later use, and roof gardens that catch rain that otherwise would become runoff. Kansas City is plagued by the same sewer and stormwater problems as many other cities having older systems, and faces the same staggering rebuilding costs in its efforts to comply with Environmental Protection Agency regulations. The city has set out to mitigate the problems to the extent possible by mobilizing the entire community in a voluntary effort to attack a major water pollution problem at its source.

The five-year goal of 10,000 Rain Gardens is, literally, 10,000 rain gardens in back yards and on any other public and private property. Hallmark Cards, Inc., for example, plans to install a 1,000'square-foot rain garden at its corporate headquarters in Kansas City. Barnes is installing two rain gardens at city hall, in addition to one at her home. And rain gardens are appearing on school grounds throughout the metro area.

Leaders of the initiative are aware that other cities are installing rain gardens, but are not aware of others that have set so high of a rain garden goal. But given the size of the population and the number of homes, parks, and other green spaces in the region, they believe that their five-year target is attainable.

At the heart of the 10,000 Rain Gardens initiative is a Web site – www.rainkc.com – that is a single source of public information on why rain gardens are needed, how easily they can be created, and where to find helpful resources. The site provides a how-to brochure, links to gardening professionals, sources of plants and other useful items, a schedule of workshops and other presentations on rain gardens, a link to a speakers bureau, a blog on rain gardens, and an e-newsletter – Rain Garden Report.

The Web site also provides information on the genesis of the initiative – how, in 2004 and 2005, consultants for the Kansas City Water Service Department interviewed stakeholders – neighborhood activists, elected officials, economic development officials, government employees, developers, educators, corporate citizens, and civic leaders – to get their views on stormwater runoff and sewage overflow problems, and how this produced a consensus on the need for a regional approach to the problems, more green solutions to flooding and runoff problems, and a public education plan aimed at engaging citizens in the solutions.

The idea of creating 10,000 rain gardens came out of a Stormwater Coordinating Committee meeting held in May 2005. Barnes requested the development of a comprehensive plan for the initiative and, six months later, the mayor was joined by Jackson County Executive Katheryn Shields and Johnson County Commission Chair Annabeth Surbaugh in a regional rally for the formal metro-wide launch of 10,000 Rain Gardens.

Accompanying the launch were television and radio commercials and print ads urging citizens, corporations, and non-profit organizations to join the local governments in tackling the stormwater and overflow problems in the regional watershed, and seminars and displays on the initiative at home and garden shows. The media campaign produced interviews with rain garden experts on television and radio stations, and feature stories and editorials in newspapers. A survey of residents following the six-week kick-off campaign found that 43 percent of citizens correctly identified stormwater as the number one source of non-point source pollution of area streams and rivers. It also found that, using the results of a survey conducted six months earlier as a baseline, the campaign had produced a double-digit increase in awareness of the problem. More than four out of five of the 4,700 citizens surveyed said they were willing to use native plants in their landscaping in an effort to improve water quality.

Training for professionals has been another successful component of the initiative. Three full-day sessions ($50 per participant) sold out and became standing-room-only events for 200 landscapers, municipal employees, retailers, and others. Jackson County conducted public workshops and Master Gardeners groups were given training materials and a grant from the Mid-America Regional Council to conduct training throughout the spring and summer of 2006. One professional workshop attracted more than 90 developers, architects, engineers, and municipal government representatives.

“Ten Thousand Rain Gardens is an idea whose time has come,” Barnes wrote in a February 20, 2006 column in the Kansas City Star. “Research released last week in scientific journals says that rain gardens capture and clean up to 99 percent of pollutants found in urban runoff. This helps keep dangerous pollutants out of our stream….When we each do our part, we contribute to cleaner water and a healthier community.”

Information on 10,000 Rain Gardens may be requested on the Web site’s “Contact Us” page or at 816-616-4236.

Events

KCPT Program -- "The Heat is On: The Warming of KC"

Nick Haines hosts a local program this Thursday, Aug. 2, at 7:30 on KCPT, a 30-minute program based on a conversation with a dozen local folks for about 90 minutes or so in late July. It included a diverse group, all but one of whom seemed to agree that local action to address climate change was needed in KC. A followup community forum to share opinions on solving the nation's energy problems will be held on Aug, 9, 6:00 - 8:30 p.m at the Central Resource Library at 9875 W. 87th St. in Overland Park.

Master Gardener Tour

Mark your calendars for the Kansas City Master Gardener’s Tour on June 15th and 16th. There will be two rain gardens on the tour, including the garden at the home of B&V Water’s President and CEO Dan McCarthy.

Garden Tour 2007 - Midtown South

June 15 & 16, 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM

"We will meet you at the garden gate"

The Master Gardeners of Greater Kansas City and nine garden owners welcome you to explore beyond the garden gate and enjoy a stroll down the garden path through imaginative and unique gardens chosen for their exquisite thematic plant material, inviting water features, and aesthetic artistry. Enjoy four beautiful bonus gardens as well. They include guided tours through two gardens in Loose Park - the Kurashiki Japanese Garden and Tea Room, and the Laura Conyers Smith Municipal Rose Garden. Two certified rain gardens are also along the route.

Registration (PDF)

Learn-In

On June 19, B&V Rain Garden experts will conduct a Rain Garden “learn-in” with members of the Youth Conservation Corps, sponsored by the Missouri Department of Conservation. On Tuesday afternoon, the interns will come to Black & Veatch for some educational sessions and then have lunch on site. In the afternoon, they will begin planting the first of four rain gardens they will build this summer. This first one will be in the Ivanhoe District.