Herding More Cats: Developing Vision, Principles, and Priorities for an Integrated Stormwater Management Program

Kansas City, Missouri traces its genesis back to the year 1821, when the Missouri Territory was admitted to the Union as a state. That same year, a Frenchman named Francois Chouteau traveled up the Missouri River from St. Louis and established a trading post on the south bank of the river. Other French families gradually joined him. From the beginning, the fledging settlement suffered from flooding. In 1826, M. Chouteau rebuilt his trading post on higher ground after a large, destructive flood. Now more than 1,800,000 people live in the Greater Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The area straddles the border between the states of Kansas and Missouri. Moreover, the area consumes part or all of eight counties and all or part of one hundred seventeen incorporated municipalities. By far the largest municipality is Kansas City, Missouri with a population of approximately 450,000. Spread out over approximately 320 square miles, the City now includes parts of four counties and continues to grow in both population and area as new territory is annexed. Roughly half of the City lies north of the Missouri River and half south of it. The area south of the river generally is older and much of it is served by combined sewers. The City extends from the old downtown and industrial areas along the river southward some 18 miles characterized by newer and newer developments. The Northland generally is much younger in character and continues to undergo rapid urbanization.