Sewer connection checkups, plumbing activities suspended due to health and financial impacts
(Kansas City, MO) – Today, KC Water announced the Keep Out the Rain program, a complimentary program offered by KC Water to help Kansas City residents find and fix prohibited sewer connections, will remain on hold due to COVID-19 impacts. While some of the COVID-19 safety and health concerns have subsided, there are also financial impacts associated with the pandemic.
“The Keep Out the Rain program is successfully reducing overflows and the burdens placed on our city’s sanitary sewer system by identifying and disconnecting prohibited sewer connections to allow Kansas City’s rainfall to flow naturally to storm sewers and waterways,” said KC Water Smart Sewer Officer, Srini Vallabhaneni. “This temporary pause allows KC Water to analyze the utility’s financial position and the economic effects of COVID-19 being felt by our ratepayers. The program will resume as soon as it makes sense from a safety and financial perspective.”
Keep Out the Rain program participants are being directly notified of the program’s pause and provided resources and information regarding their individual circumstances.
Kansas City continues to improve its wastewater infrastructure amid the COVID-19 pandemic through the city’s Smart Sewer program, a comprehensive approach to reducing overflows from combined sewer systems and preventing overflows from separate sewer systems. Reducing and preventing overflows from Kansas City’s sewer systems creates a cleaner, healthier environment for our community and improves the quality of the water that is returned to area waterways.
For more information, contact Heather Frierson, KC Water Media Relations Coordinator heather.frierson@kcmo.org, 816-513-0280, cell: 816-674-0211
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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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