In celebration of Earth Day, the City of Lawrence joined Friends of the Kaw for their 10th Annual Kaw River Cleanup on Saturday, April 20. Approximately 120 volunteers came out to this year’s event where we filled two dumpsters with debris collected from the riverbanks.

“The cleanup is an important way to educate about the Kansas River and build community among people who care about the river,” said Kim Bellemere, Director of Programming and Outreach, Friends of the Kaw. “It’s also a lot of fun!”

Friends of the Kaw is the lead organizer of the event, and they partner with the City of Lawrence and other community organizations, including The Merc Co-op and The Nature Conservancy, to spread the word and recruit volunteers ahead of the big day. The City also donated the dumpsters used that day.

Cleaning up the riverbanks is a key step to keeping the Kansas River clean, which is important to the approximately 950,000 Kansans – including many Lawrence residents – who get their drinking water from the river. Another important part of the river water cleaning process is what happens at our City’s water and wastewater treatment plants.

“In Lawrence, we have two water treatment plants, each backed by its own source, giving us the unique ability to provide our residents with continuous water supply and excellent water quality,” said Steven Craig, Water Treatment Division Manager, City of Lawrence. “We are confident in our ability to provide the best water quality and supply to our community.”

The City of Lawrence operates the Kaw River Water Treatment Plant, which treats water from the Kansas (aka Kaw) River before it can be sent to Lawrence households to be used. This treated and cleaned water is the same water that comes out of the taps in your house – you use it to shower, cook pasta, water your plants, etc.

Once the water is used, it goes from your house through our system of pipes back to a wastewater treatment plant where it gets treated before being returned to the Kansas River. It’s all one big cycle of water that functions within our system that includes more than 400 miles of sewer mains, more than 15,000 manholes and 33 pump stations!