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Voters’ next big opportunity to alleviate the city’s massive backlog of infrastructure repairs is coming up on August 2nd when they will vote on half a billion dollars for water and sewer repairs. Questions 1 and 2 would allow the water department to issue bonds over the next 10 years for a big list of projects to improve the urban core’s crumbling pipes and open up more farmland for suburbanization.
Yes on Questions 1 and 2: kcbasics.com (So far no organized opposition has been announced).
The Star: KC leader start campaign for water, sewer bonds.
While there is technically no tax increase involved, the bonds will be payed for in your regular water bill. The biggest drawback we see is that this proposal would do very little to address the problem of combined storm and sanitary sewers – the old storm drains that overflow into the sewers and send raw sewage into Flush Creek and other streams during heavy rain storms.
Bottom line: fewer water main breaks but the same amount of shit in the creeks.
Having watched KCMO operate over the last 30 years, I’d rate the water department’s management of big projects as pretty good. E.g., big, complex projects are completed on time and under budget. This is one place I feel the money would be both well spent *and* well managed. Give them the money and get the city council out of their way.
They are already studying the CSO problem. The final study report will be finished by the end of 2007. Recommendations will come from that and final design will begin shortly after. It’s a big shitty problem, but we are working on it.
If you want to know any further details, email.