Urban Waters Federal Partnership—Middle Blue River Basin (Kansas City, Mo.) Active
Connecting People and Water in the Kansas City Metro Area
Assessing ecological health to provide key information
Reconnecting people and water is an increasingly important goal in many urban areas. Parks, urban trails, boat ramps, and urban agriculture all are ways that an urban population can interact with nature and improve quality of life. USGS is participating in gathering the information that will make these projects possible.
“Renew the Blue”—a rallying cry and a program to increase public engagement with the Middle Blue River where it flows through the Kansas City metropolitan area. Parks, urban trails, and boat ramps are envisioned to enhance healthy and accessible urban waters that help grow local businesses and foster education, recreational, and social opportunities.
A major goal of the program is to help the river corridor revert back to its natural habitat for fish and wildlife, and the Heartland Conservation Alliance and the city of Kansas City, MO, are focusing on habitat restoration. As part of “Renew the Blue”, the USGS is assessing water quality, habitat, fish, and macroinvertebrate communities on the Middle Blue River and some of its tributaries. The assessment will provide key information on the ecological health of the river.
USGS also is involved in an ecological assessment at the Kansas City Municipal Farm. The Municipal Farm, long abandoned, is seen as an opportunity for environmental restoration, research, and recreation for the surrounding Eastwood Hills neighborhood. The farm has waterways, wetlands, and wooded areas.
The USGS is assessing the phytoplankton community, algal toxins, and fish tissue toxins in three of the farm’s ponds. The ponds are adjacent to a planting site being considered by a local non-profit, Boys Grow, that mentors urban 5th-12th graders through agricultural entrepreneurship.
The information gained from the USGS assessment will be used by the Kansas City Water Services Department and the City Planning and Development Department to evaluate the suitability of the ponds for urban agriculture irrigation, secondary contact recreational purposes, and fish consumption.
Stakeholder Quotes
USGS partnership in this project will help the City to explore a potentially sustainable resource for urban agriculture, youth education, and public recreation. The result from the assessment will provide the City with additional knowledge about the quality of its surface water bodies.
— Jing Tao, Kansas City Water Services Senior Environmental Officer
USGS involvement in our Middle Blue River Urban Waters partnership has been invaluable. When we work locally with the scientific and expertise of our federal partners we are able to accelerate our success.
— Jill Erickson, Executive Director of Heartland Conservation Alliance
More about other Urban Waters Federal Partnership projects
- Middle Rio Grande (Albuquerque, N. Mex.)
- Little Calument River (Northwest Indiana)
- Bronx and Harlem River Watersheds (New York, N.Y.)
- San Antonio River Basin (Bexar County, Tex.)
- Patapsco Watershed (Baltimore, Md. Area)
Learn about other Urban Waters Federal Partnership projects at the links below.
Urban Waters Federal Partnership—Bronx and Harlem River Watersheds (New York, N.Y.)
Urban Waters Federal Partnership—Middle Rio Grande (Albuquerque, N. Mex.)
Urban Waters Federal Partnership—Little Calumet River (Northwest Indiana)
Urban Waters Federal Partnership - Suspended Sediment and Nutrient Delivery to the Gulf of Mexico
Urban Waters Federal Partnership—Patapsco Watershed (Baltimore, Md. region)
- Overview
Reconnecting people and water is an increasingly important goal in many urban areas. Parks, urban trails, boat ramps, and urban agriculture all are ways that an urban population can interact with nature and improve quality of life. USGS is participating in gathering the information that will make these projects possible.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media DetailsAerial view of U.S. Geological Survey crew preparing to sample fish in a pond at the Kansas City Municipal Farm. (Credit: Angela Eley, City of Kansas City, Missouri.) “Renew the Blue”—a rallying cry and a program to increase public engagement with the Middle Blue River where it flows through the Kansas City metropolitan area. Parks, urban trails, and boat ramps are envisioned to enhance healthy and accessible urban waters that help grow local businesses and foster education, recreational, and social opportunities.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media DetailsCollection of fish from a pond at the Kansas City Municipal Farm. (Credit: Jing Tao, Kansas City Missouri Water Services Department.) A major goal of the program is to help the river corridor revert back to its natural habitat for fish and wildlife, and the Heartland Conservation Alliance and the city of Kansas City, MO, are focusing on habitat restoration. As part of “Renew the Blue”, the USGS is assessing water quality, habitat, fish, and macroinvertebrate communities on the Middle Blue River and some of its tributaries. The assessment will provide key information on the ecological health of the river.
USGS also is involved in an ecological assessment at the Kansas City Municipal Farm. The Municipal Farm, long abandoned, is seen as an opportunity for environmental restoration, research, and recreation for the surrounding Eastwood Hills neighborhood. The farm has waterways, wetlands, and wooded areas.
The USGS is assessing the phytoplankton community, algal toxins, and fish tissue toxins in three of the farm’s ponds. The ponds are adjacent to a planting site being considered by a local non-profit, Boys Grow, that mentors urban 5th-12th graders through agricultural entrepreneurship.
The information gained from the USGS assessment will be used by the Kansas City Water Services Department and the City Planning and Development Department to evaluate the suitability of the ponds for urban agriculture irrigation, secondary contact recreational purposes, and fish consumption.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media DetailsStakeholder Quotes
USGS partnership in this project will help the City to explore a potentially sustainable resource for urban agriculture, youth education, and public recreation. The result from the assessment will provide the City with additional knowledge about the quality of its surface water bodies.
— Jing Tao, Kansas City Water Services Senior Environmental OfficerUSGS involvement in our Middle Blue River Urban Waters partnership has been invaluable. When we work locally with the scientific and expertise of our federal partners we are able to accelerate our success.
— Jill Erickson, Executive Director of Heartland Conservation Alliance
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media DetailsMore about other Urban Waters Federal Partnership projects
- Middle Rio Grande (Albuquerque, N. Mex.)
- Little Calument River (Northwest Indiana)
- Bronx and Harlem River Watersheds (New York, N.Y.)
- San Antonio River Basin (Bexar County, Tex.)
- Patapsco Watershed (Baltimore, Md. Area)
- Science
Learn about other Urban Waters Federal Partnership projects at the links below.
Urban Waters Federal Partnership—Bronx and Harlem River Watersheds (New York, N.Y.)
The Harlem and Bronx Rivers provide ecological and social resources in an intensively urban area. Connecting people to rivers requires clean water—the USGS is helping to assess the efficacy of green infrastructure to improve the quality of stormwater that flows into the rivers.Urban Waters Federal Partnership—Middle Rio Grande (Albuquerque, N. Mex.)
The Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge, just 7 miles south of downtown Albuquerque on the Rio Grande, will reconnect people, especially young people, with nature in this highly populated area. The USGS is gathering data that will help gauge the success of habitat restoration efforts.Urban Waters Federal Partnership—Little Calumet River (Northwest Indiana)
The USGS works with a wide range of cooperators to investigate many aspects of water quality. The newly integrated USGS Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center is assisting in furthering urban water-quality research in Northwest Indiana.Urban Waters Federal Partnership - Suspended Sediment and Nutrient Delivery to the Gulf of Mexico
Suspended sediment and nutrients from greater San Antonio can affect instream ecological health of the San Antonio River and ultimately impact Gulf of Mexico bays and estuaries. Real-time monitoring in urban and rural parts of the river basin may provide a glimpse into the importance of urban sediment and nutrient sources. Real-time sensors provide a tool to better understand and manage water...Urban Waters Federal Partnership—Patapsco Watershed (Baltimore, Md. region)
Several watersheds in the Baltimore region have elevated PCB loads in tidal waters. Local jurisdictions are responsible for reducing PCB loading from their watersheds. The USGS is embarking on a pilot study in the Patapsco watershed that will help determine sources of PCBs and will demonstrate innovative monitoring and analysis techniques for more efficient use of mitigation resouces. - Multimedia