The Johnson County Museum’s new special exhibit, Ripples: Water, Community, and You, explores the area’s water history, from ancient seas and aquifers to modern water systems and management practices. Johnson County is fortunate to have a well-watered landscape and award-winning water management systems. Read on to learn about Johnson County’s present water, wastewater, stormwater, and natural waterway management!
Water at Your Faucet
Johnson County was established in 1855 and for the first century residents used creeks or private wells to access clean water. In 1917 the Water Supply Company in Mission supplied water through pipes to new suburban homes with water purchased from Kansas City, Missouri’s system. The company purchased several other small water companies and changed its name to the Kansas City Suburban Water Company in the 1940s. But, with increasing customer dissatisfaction with service and increasing monthly costs, Johnson County’s northeastern suburban residents led an effort to buy the company and establish a public utility.
In 1957, WaterOne, an independent, nonprofit utility, was founded to provide reliable drinking water to a growing suburban population. Today, a network of 2,800 miles of pipes is responsible for delivering water to about a half-million people spread over 60% of the county’s landscape. Your tap water has gone through an extensive sanitation treatment at WaterOne’s award-winning area treatment facilities and is regularly recognized as the best tasting water in Kansas.
Rural water districts and municipal water plants treat drinking water for residents elsewhere. Gardner, Edgerton, and Spring Hill, for example, receive water from Hillsdale Reservoir. Olathe manages its own water supply and treatment. As of 2020, more than 700 county households rely on private water wells.
Water Down Your Drain
Until the 20th century, residents used outhouses and privies for their sewage needs. Olathe was likely the first municipality to have sanitary sewers. Because of the cost of building sewage (called wastewater) infrastructure, suburban developers relied on individual home septic systems for decades. In the postwar period 1-in-3 of these systems failed in the first three years, creating some… smelly situations. With improved technology and materials, there are nearly 8,500 residential septic systems in the county today.
In 1949, the first Johnson County Wastewater facility began managing and treating what 15,000 residents flushed down toilets, sinks, and other indoor drains. JoCo Wastewater built the state’s largest sewage treatment plant along Mill Creek in Shawnee in 1995 to serve up to 318,000 residents. Decades of sustained investment to expand the system and update infrastructure has led to an award-winning wastewater system.
Today six wastewater facilities handle sewage for 500,000 residents in 17 cities across the county (Olathe manages its own wastewater treatment). Each facility employs a multi-step process for separating liquids and solids, removing and drying solids for disposal, and clarifying and treating liquids in order to return them to streamways. Solids either go to the landfill or are used as fertilizer for crops grown for livestock feedlots; treated liquids are returned to creeks and rivers. JoCo Wastewater treats an average of 18 billion gallons of wastewater each year – that’s enough to fill the T-Mobile Center 84 times!
Water in the Gutter
In 1990, Johnson County Public Works’ Stormwater Management Program was formed to partner with cities in the removal of rain and flood water from streets and parking lots. Their efforts built on decades of municipal management of stormwater. Unlike sanitary sewers, stormwater is not treated before returning to rivers and creeks, so whatever runs off of pavement and yards and goes into roadside gutters and storm sewers is likely to turn up in nearby waterways.
County staff work with city stormwater officials in 20 cities, coordinating across municipal lines, facilitating grant funding, and maintaining floodplain maps. To date, the Stormwater Management Program has assisted with over $200 million in improvements in Johnson County’s cities.
Water in the Streams
Johnson County’s landscape includes over 1,800 miles of natural streamways. Water flows here in many forms, ranging from small creeks to rivers. There are also 13 small reservoirs and lakes, and numerous man-made ponds dot the landscape.
While no single entity oversees all natural waterways in Johnson County, Johnson County Park and Recreation District (JCPRD) has actively managed some floodplains and conserved natural settings like prairies, wetlands, streamways, and lakes since 1987. Today JCPRD manages 400 acres of water and 1,300 streamway park acres along more than 70 miles of waterways. JCPRD staff coordinates with city park systems, conservation groups, nonprofit organizations, and volunteers to effectively manage water. [image 5]
Most of Johnson County’s creeks and streams originate in the county, putting JCPRD in a unique, upstream position to navigate watershed restoration. JCPRD takes the role seriously and has received national recognition for its natural resources management.
Water Management in the Future?
The award-winning water management systems found in Johnson County were not inevitable. How we use water today is informed by thousands of years of human history. Every human action concerning water – past and present, personal and professional, residential and industrial, intentional and unintentional – makes a ripple. Each ripple, whether positive or negative, changes water, and changes lives, for generations to come. Today, we live with the ripples of past decisions and actions taken regarding water, while we are also creating ripples of our own.
The Johnson County Museum’s special exhibit, Ripples, examines the ripples still reverberating from the past so that we can learn from them today and consider how our actions will impact the future of water in our area. The exhibit urges visitors to consider: what ripples will you make?
The Johnson County Museum is grateful for the generous support of our sponsors for Ripples: Water, Community, and You, including Black & Veatch, Burns & McDonnell, HDR, The Parks & Recreation Foundation of Johnson County, and TREKK Design Group. Their commitment to this exhibit helps us bring to life the important story of water in our region, and their partnership ensures we can continue offering engaging and educational experiences to our community.
This special exhibit is included in your museum admission. Our next community Free Day is Thursday, March 20, 2025. Learn more, explore upcoming programming, and plan your visit at: JCPRD.com/ripples.
