Picture everything seen on an average street: motor oil, pet waste, leaves and grass clippings, trash and even household chemicals like paint, fertilizers and pesticides.

Now picture the same streets after a rainstorm. They look cleaner, right? Wrong. The streets may look better, but the pollutants haven't disappeared—they’ve been carried into stormdrains where they dump, untreated, into nearby streams, lakes or rivers.

Our actions can have far-reaching effects on how clean our water is. Streams, rivers and lakes support a wide variety of plants and wildlife and provide many outdoor recreation opportunities. Protecting our water preserves and enhances the quality of life in Lenexa.

Regulatory information
The Clean Water Act (CWA) works to prevent pollution in stormwater runoff through federal and state law. Cities are issued a special permit through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). Lenexa’s NPDES permit was issued by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) in 2004 and has six requirements:

• Public Education and Outreach
• Public Participation and Involvement
• Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination
• Construction Site Runoff Control
• Post-Construction Runoff Control
• Pollution Prevention/Good Housekeeping

View Lenexa’s 2009 NPDES annual report.

Protecting water quality
Rain to Recreation’s water quality work aims to prevent and reduce pollution on a watershed level by:

• educating residents on ways to prevent pollution and reduce stormwater runoff
• finding ways to engage the community – residential and professional – in protecting stormwater
• responding to emergency spills and pollution complaints
• issuing permits for commercial businesses, construction sites and land development to prevent pollution, as well as inspecting permitted job sites for compliance
• utilizing green infrastructure and stormwater Best Management Practices to treat and reduce runoff
• monitoring lakes, creeks and streams for pollution, identifying problem areas and planning protection.

Want to help?
Volunteer to help keep our water clean by changing your lawn care habits, cleaning a local stream or even picking up after your pet. Contact Mandy Stark, outreach and education specialist, for more information.