Kansas City lacks a citywide purple-pipe recycled-water network. Limited reuse occurs at wastewater plants for in-process water, and the Missouri River sewer overflow consent decree has accelerated green-infrastructure and stormwater capture rather than potable reuse projects.
Kansas City Water Services operates two major wastewater plants, Blue River and Birmingham, both of which use treated effluent internally for plant processes. There is no general non-potable distribution main serving irrigation customers. The 2010 federal consent decree with EPA, sometimes called the MMSD Overflow Control Plan, has driven multibillion-dollar investment in storage tunnels, green stormwater infrastructure and combined-sewer separation along the Big Blue and Missouri River corridors. Recycled-water expansion is identified in long-range KC Water capital plans but is not yet broadly available. Property owners who want to reuse water on-site can install rainwater cisterns under landscaping rules and graywater systems consistent with Missouri plumbing code.
Unauthorized cross-connections between potable and non-potable sources are a serious code violation under the Uniform Plumbing Code and trigger immediate disconnection plus fines through the Building Department.
Kansas City, MO
Kansas City allows residential rainwater harvesting without a permit for barrels under 500 gallons and encourages installations through KC Water's green infr...
Kansas City, MO
Kansas City enforces comprehensive stormwater management under Chapter 61 of the Code of Ordinances and the KC Water Department's Stormwater Management Plan....
See how Kansas City's recycled water rules rules stack up against other locations.
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