Blue River
Blue River Cleanup Targets Trash, Invasive Species
A restoration project is underway along the Blue River watershed, a collaborative effort by four nonprofit partners: The Heartland Conservation Alliance, Bridging The Gap, Deep Roots, and Mid-America Regional Council. The groups signed the contracts officially in May. “The day that we got our signed contract sent to us from the city kind of felt…
curiousKC | Houseboats Once Thrived on the Blue River
The curiousKC team shares the story of the houseboat community that once thrived on the Blue River.
A (Blue) River Runs Through Us
In 1975 voters in one of the country’s fastest-growing counties faced a fork in the asphalt. They pondered the construction of three large flood-control reservoirs as part of a $200 million flood-control plan for the Blue River basin presented by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. If the proposition had been approved, three lakes today…
Water Rates and Rivers
Water Rates and Rivers explores the reasons behind the steep climb in Kansas City water rates and asks “Was this inevitable and is it fair?” The hike in prices is largely explained by a federal mandate requiring KCMO to upgrade its sewage system and to reduce pollution of the Blue River watershed. But to what…
Testing the Water in Our Watershed
From road salt to pet waste to runoff when it rains, the Blue River and its tributaries have been polluted over time. So much so that in 2010 the EPA gave Kansas City 25 years to reduce the amount of raw sewage dumped into the watershed. Lynn Youngblood, executive director of the Blue River Watershed Association,…