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, visits schools to talk about water quality and emphasize the importance of everyone doing their part in cleaning our watershed.

Public Works? The Cost of Our Aging Infrastructure is a months-long project taking you underneath the pavement to tackle the state of our water and sewers. We track the state of highways and bridges in Kansas and Missouri. We take a closer look at our public transit system. And, perhaps most importantly, we convene policymakers and industry leaders in search of solutions.

— The three stories of Part 2, including “Testing the Water in Our Watershed,” will be part of one larger story that runs at 7:30 p.m. on March 30 on KCPT. Find other articles on the metro’s infrastructure here, and follow the project with #KCpublicworks.