With billions of dollars being poured into much needed Downtown redevelopment, people in the outlying areas of the city are becoming restless and asking when will the development bonanza make it to their neighborhood. Besides the dead malls, crumbling 1950s tract houses, and streets without curbs or gutters, there are still many houses with septic tanks instead of city sewers! Most are in the Ruskin/Hickman Mills areas and the older part of the Northland, south of Vivian Road. Both areas were originally developed just after WWII on unincorporated land without sewers or other city services.

However, those spiffy city sewers aren’t all that. Even posh Brookside has to deal with the occasional puddles of sewage in the streets and basements. Hopefully the recently-approved $250 million sewer bonds will begin to correct these problems in all areas of the city. Look for basic service issues like this one to command more attention in the 2007 mayoral and council races.

KC Star: South KC residents air their grievances

KMBC-TV 9: EPA Checks out sewer problems in Brookside

Categories: General


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