As a massive, 30-year-long, $4 billion sewer-rehabilitation program continues to move along in Kansas City, Missouri, green stormwater infrastructure has emerged as a major tool in the city’s efforts to rein in combined sewer overflows as mandated by a federal consent decree.
In 2010, the city reached an agreement with the United States Environmental Protection Agency to reduce CSOs by capturing more than 85% of CSOs that occur in a typical year. Since then, 18 green infrastructure projects have been installed at a cost of more than $91 million, says Andy Shively, deputy director of wastewater and stormwater engineering at KC
