(Kansas City, MO) –KC Water held a celebration event today to celebrate the completion of the new Trolley Trail Basin at South Oak Park.
The earthen basin will prevent combined sewer overflows from going into local waterways near 83rd and Oak Street and do so in a cost-efficient way.
At the celebration on October 22nd, KC Water Director Terry Leeds applauded the work saying this progress is good for Kansas City.
“This project is a great example of how we can be creative in our solutions to reduce combined sewage overflows and provide benefits to the neighborhood,” said Terry Leeds, KC Water Director.
Neighborhood resident Marilyn Brohm was delighted to see the final outcome.
“I was concerned about the construction at first. What was it going to look like, but when they finally opened it up and I could see the bridges and the trail, I was just thrilled,” said Brohm.
During a heavy rain, the basin will capture combined sewer overflows before slowly releasing it into the sewer system. It’s designed to prevent an estimate 2-million gallons of sewer overflow from entering local waterways.
Construction began in August of 2019. Beautiful extension bridges and an updated walking trail were added. KC Water also removed 51,000 tons of trash from a closed landfill that exists under part of South Oak Park.
This project is part of KC Water’s Smart Sewer program. In 2010, the City of Kansas City, Missouri entered into a Consent Decree with the United States Environmental Protection Agency to reduce the volume of overflows into the City’s wastewater system.
For more information, please contact Heather Frierson, Media Relations Coordinator, at heather.frierson@kcmo.org, 816-513-0280.
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KC Water maintains and operates water treatment and distribution systems, stormwater management systems, and wastewater collection and treatment systems for residential and business customers in Kansas City and for wholesale customers in the Kansas City area. KC Water is primarily funded by fees charged to customers based on their use or impacts on the three utility systems.
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