Old standards for development adversely affected our streams and rivers: natural channels were straightened and dredged, banks were covered with concrete and native vegetation was destroyed. Previous philosophies, used across the nation, focused on moving water downstream as quickly as possible, without considering ecology or natural stream processes.

Lenexa’s Rain to Recreation program identifies stream corridors as critical ecosystems, vital in managing water quality and quantity. Our stormwater operations and maintenance incorporates the principles of hydrology, watershed management and ecology with traditional infrastructure to create a more sustainable system.


Watershed maintenance crews
Rain to Recreation program works with the city’s gray stormwater infrastructure—pipes, culverts and ditches—as well as its BMPs and green infrastructure, to control and reduce flooding and polluted runoff.

Pipe and stormdrain maintenance
Lenexa’s stormdrain system includes more than 340 miles of pipe, more than 14,000 storm drains and nearly 29 miles of roadside ditches. Stormwater staff uses everything from shovels to excavators to keep this system maintained and working properly, including:

• Proactive diagnostics – crews use a camera to inspect and rate underground pipes.
• Flood prevention – repairing and replacing failing pipes, stormdrains and culverts.
• Pollution reduction – cleaning pipes and stormdrains with a large vacuum pump.
• Ditch repair – maintaining roadside ditches by removing excess sediment.

Stream and green infrastructure maintenance
Stream maintenance activities focus on flood prevention as well as reducing pollution by maintaining or increasing the natural functions and capacity of streams, ponds and lakes.

Activities include:

• Bank stabilization. Repairing eroding banks reduces flooding risks and keeps soil in place. Practices include regrading, installing energy dissipation devices such as rock weirs, utilizing erosion control products, seeding native plants and planting trees.
• Vegetation management. Crews work to control invasive species and reestablish native plants to provide flood protection, and promote habitat and pollution removal and filtration.
• Debris removal. Removing limbs or fallen trees significantly reduces the potential for flood damage to structures and nearby homes and buildings. In 2009, staff removed approximately 30 cubic yards of limbs, logs and trees from area streams.
• Pollutant and litter collection. In the 2009 winter clean-up, the crews filled 322, 55-gallon trash bags, which equaled nearly eight tons of trash collected in just over two weeks. Smaller cleanups are conducted on a monthly basis and after every half-inch or more rainfall.

For more information
Contact Ted Semadeni, stormwater supervisor.