(KANSAS CITY, Kan.) — The Kansas City Board of Public Utilities (BPU) and other
utilities across North America are observing Drinking Water Week from May 7-13, 2023.
This educational effort recognizes the vital role tap water, and in particular municipal
water, plays in daily life, the infrastructure that is required to carry it to and from
homes and businesses, and the important work of water professionals like those at BPU
who work around the clock to ensure the delivery of safe and dependable tap water.
BPU’s water distribution system services 53,000 customers, including approximately
4,200 businesses, and a population of 169,000 with more than 1,000 miles of water
lines and 6,200 fire hydrants across both heavily urban and suburban communities.
This includes maintaining and operating two of the nation’s largest Horizontal
Collector Wells deep below the Missouri River that ensure safe dependable
water is always readily available to the community.
As one of our planet’s most valuable natural resources, water plays a vital role in daily
life, serving an essential purpose for health, hydration, and hygiene needs. It also
delivers fire protection, health security, support the economy, and improves the
overall quality of life we’ve come to enjoy.
BPU Water Facts:
- Capacity to produce 72 million gallons of water per day (MGD)
- 20 million gallons of reserve water in elevated storage tanks and reservoirs
- Consumers pay $1.00 for a 16 oz. plastic bottle of water at the store – while an
entire gallon (128 oz.) of BPU tap water costs less than one cent!
BPU employees, all who live and work in Wyandotte County, work 24 hours a day,
seven days a week, 365 days a year to ensure reliable water service. This includes
those that design and build capital projects, operators who ensure the safety and
quality of drinking water at the state-of-the-art Nearman Water Treatment Plant, or
the crews that maintain a vast infrastructure including mains and lines that transport
the water we take for granted every day.
Additionally, BPU technicians and experts conduct extensive testing from the utility’s
on-site water-testing laboratory, guaranteeing the supply of pure safe water for
customers. BPU and its employees are also good stewards of the environment, working
to protect source waters from pollution and promoting conversation efforts to
minimize waste.
BPU is one of the top-rated public water utilities in the country, one of only a handful
to receive the Partnership for Safe Water Directors Award. The Partnership for Safe
Water is a voluntary program between BPU (as well as other participating water
utilities) and the following water authorities: the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, the American Water Works Association, the Association of Metropolitan Water
Agencies and the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators, all of whom help
to sponsor the program. Less than one percent of all utilities nationwide receive this
award, and BPU was the first and only utility in the metro area to receive this honor.
BPU has also received the Platinum Award for Utility Excellence from the Association
of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), one of a select few utilities in the country to
receive this recognition.
Providing quality drinking water is essential to the health and wellness of Wyandotte
County and the community. The work that BPU performs each day ensures that the
water delivered to its customers consistently exceeds expectations. It is committed to
providing the best drinking water in the nation today, and for the generations that
follow.