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KC Water Earns Environmental Achievement Award

Posted on August 12, 2016

(Kansas City, Mo.) – On your next walk around Kansas City, pay attention to the storm drain manhole covers. There are 100 new covers with a unique water quality message, and that’s thanks to an idea from KC Water’s Water Quality Educator, Lara Isch. On August 10th, she received an Environmental Achievement Award from Kansas City’s Environmental Management Commission for the storm drain manhole cover design competition. The awards are given to City employees for acts or achievements which significantly benefit the environment and promote sustainability in Kansas City.

KC Water launched a storm drain manhole cover art contest in 2014. The idea was to engage the public in creating and sharing a water quality message. More than 50 people of all ages entered designs. A panel of eight experts from the design and education communities selected the winning entry shown below.

“I hope the winning design really gets people thinking about what washes down our streets and into creeks, streams, and rivers,” said Isch. “Protecting water quality is not something KC Water can do alone. It’s something that takes the help of everyone. We all have to keep trash, leaves, and grass clippings out of the storm drains to help reduce flooding and protect the water quality in our creeks and streams.”

For more information, please contact Brooke Givens, Media Relations Coordinator, at brooke.givens@kcmo.org or 816.513.0284.

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KC Water maintains and operates water treatment and distribution systems, stormwater management systems, and wastewater collection and treatment systems for residential and business customers in Kansas City and for wholesale customers in the Kansas City area. KC Water is primarily funded by fees charged to customers based on their use or impacts on the three utility systems.

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