Creating an infrastructure of knowledge

In 2003, KC Water launched its Wet Weather Solution Program and formed its Wet Weather Community Panel. The purpose of the panel, which comprises citizens and community leaders, is to help shape a plan to manage stormwater, address sewer overflows, and work to improve water quality in the Kansas City region. With an impending federal consent decree to reduce sewer overflows in the combined and...

Any utility that has dealt with curriculum development and implementation has learned that it is not as simple as creating a product and handing it to a teacher or school. Teachers are required to meet standards set forth by state agencies in the timeframes dictated by their school district. However, in most Kansas City metro area school districts, teachers are given the freedom to teach concepts...

Assisting KC Water in creating KC to the Sea were BNIM, a local architecture firm; and Project Explore, a curriculum development company. The curriculum had to meet not only the needs of KC Water but also the Missouri Learning Standards required by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education if it was to be successfully implemented in the schools. KC to the Sea is provided free...

KC Water first piloted the curriculum during the 2010–2011 school year. Six teachers participated in an educational workshop held by Blue River Watershed Association (BRWA), a local nonprofit watershed group, to become familiar with the curriculum and feel comfortable teaching it prior to implementation in the classroom. Based on teacher comments, KC Water refined the curriculum to make it...

If a utility wants to build lasting infrastructure, it hires a competent engineer who manages a competent team to make sure that everything is done according to industry standards and up-to-date practices. Education and outreach programs must be treated with the same level of expertise.

KC to the Sea is successful because it is promoted, reviewed, and updated by the classrooms implementing it. Through input from classroom teachers, curriculum coordinators, and students alike, the program has evolved from a water quality education tool into a comprehensive program that illustrates the interconnection of water, wastewater, and stormwater.

Open dialogues with teachers and coordinators have allowed KC Water to grow the KC to the Sea program from reaching 300 students in 6 schools during the pilot year to reaching over 4,000 students in 45 schools throughout 9 school districts in the 2016-2017 school year. In total, the program has reached more than 17,000 students. KC Water hopes that continuing to teach children will instill an...

Lara Isch is a water quality educator for KC WATER, based in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. The author gratefully acknowledges the cooperation and input of 4th through 6th grade teachers and curriculum coordinators throughout the Kansas City metro area in helping to shape this water quality education program.