Streams are host to a wide variety of unique plants, insects, fish and amphibians which are essential links in the food chain for a wide variety of other animals, including birds and mammals.
On occasion, residents can see a great blue heron fishing in local streams. Our families and friends can walk under the dense canopy of oak and sycamores along streamside trails. Many new residents seek out homes that have a natural backdrop of streams and woodlands.
A 2006 survey found that half of Johnson County residents and business owners said protecting water quality in lakes, streams and rivers was one of their top three most important issues.
What is a watershed?
All land that drains to a particular stream is known as the stream's watershed. Watersheds can be as small as a single yard that drains to a pipe or as large as the 23 states that drain to the Mississippi River. Actions anywhere in a watershed can impact the quality of water downstream.
The majority of land water that flows through our city eventually flows east into the Blue River, which winds its way through Kansas City, Missouri until it reaches the Missouri River.
Indian Creek, which runs along Interstate 435 through the heart of Overland Park, joins with Tomahawk Creek near College Boulevard and Mission Road in Leawood, then flows west to the State Line, where it continues just a few more miles before meeting with the Blue.
In the northern part of the city (generally north of 87th Street), Metcalf Avenue forms a dividing line. East of Metcalf water generally flows east through Brush Creek, which also joins the Blue River. West of Metcalf water flows into Turkey Creek, which winds northward along Interstate 35 to Southwest Boulevard and then to the Kansas River, just upstream of where the Kansas and Missouri Rivers meet.
All of these pathways end at the Missouri River, which, in turn, feeds the Mississippi. These two rivers serve as an essential source of drinking and agricultural water for millions of people in eight states.
Why is the quality of the water a concern?
Many of our nation's rivers, lakes and wetlands are degraded. In 1996, the EPA reported that 40 percent of the rivers, lakes and estuaries that had been assessed were "impaired," meaning they couldn't fully support their designated beneficial uses.
Urban runoff and storm sewers were found to be a source of pollution in 13 percent of impaired rivers and 21 percent of impaired lakes.
Protecting water resources for both human and environmental uses is a national priority. The objective of the Clean Water Act of 1972 is to "restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the Nation's waters."
What is polluting the water?
In the last century, synthetic chemicals became essential to our modern way of life, leading to the creation of hundreds of thousands of new compounds that had never existed before in nature. Inevitably, many of those chemicals and their byproducts migrate into our water where their degradability and impact on life are not always fully understood.
Portions of local rivers are subject to fishing advisories due to the continued presence of chlordane (a chemical used for termite control) in fish tissue and sediments, despite its ban decades ago.
What are we doing now?
Tremendous strides in water quality protection have been made in the last 30 years primarily through better treatment of waste waters from industry and sanitary sewers. However, more work remains. The attention of the nation has now turned to a broader range of sources, including agriculture, small construction sites and urban stormwater.
Residents and government entities at all levels are expected to do their part to protect one of our most vital resources.