Prepared in cooperation with the City of Kansas City, Missouri, Water Services Department 

Water Quality in the Blue River Basin, Kansas City Metropolitan Area, Missouri and Kansas, July 

1998 to October 2004 

—Donald H. Wilkison, Daniel J. Armstrong, Richard D. Norman, Barry C. Polton, Edward T. Furlong, and Steven D. Zaugg 

Introduction 

Stream-water quality in the Blue River 

Basin is influenced by a variety of factors 

including urbanization, point and nonpoint source pollution, physical stream 

conditions, and complex water-quality 

processes. The Blue River Basin encompasses 280 square miles and roughly onehalf of the Kansas City metropolitan area 

south of the Missouri River. Fifty-four 

percent of the basin is located in Kansas 

and 46 percent is located in Missouri. The 

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the City of Kansas City, Missouri, Water Services Department, collected water-quality data from July 1998 

to October 2004 to provide an assessment 

of the chemical, bacteriological, and biological conditions of basin streams, identify sources of selected constituents, and 

provide an understanding of factors 

affecting water quality. The results of 

these studies are described in Wilkison 

and others (2002; 2005; 2006), and are 

summarized in this fact sheet. 

Kansas City, Missouri, is 1 of approximately 750 municipalities in the United 

States with a combined sewer system. Such 

systems carry sanitary wastewater and 

stormwater runoff and function differently 

during dry and wet weather conditions. In 

dry weather, combined systems convey 

sewage from homes, businesses, and industry to a wastewater-treatment plant 

(WWTP). After treatment, the water is discharged to a receiving stream in accordance 

with applicable water-quality standards. 

During wet weather, runoff from streets, 

rooftops, parking lots, and lawns enters the 

combined system and is delivered to the 

WWTP for treatment and discharge. However, if runoff and sewage volumes exceed 

the pipe or WWTP capacity then excess 

flow (a mixture of stormwater and untreated 

sewage) is diverted and discharged to 

receiving streams, events referred to as 

combined sewer overflows (CSOs). 

Roughly 90 percent of the CSO outfall 

points in Kansas City, Missouri, are located 

within the Blue River Basin. 

Communities with combined sewer 

systems are required under federal and 

state regulations to develop a plan to control overflows and to monitor their effects 

on receiving waters. Control plans 

include analysis of current water-quality 

conditions based on a watershed perspective and characterization of other pollutant 

sources that might inhibit the attainment 

of applicable water-quality standards 

(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 

1999). Laboratory and hydrologic analysis of Blue River Basin stream samples 

collected during base flow (defined as 

streamflow unaffected by storm runoff) 

and stormflow events were undertaken to 

understand the effects of wastewater on 

urban receiving streams and to support 

development of a control plan. Analyses 

included physical properties, nutrients, 

selected organic wastewater compounds 

(OWCs), selected prescription and overthe-counter pharmaceutical compounds, 

Escherichia coli (E. coli) and fecal 

coliform bacteria, and benthic macroinvertebrates (fig. 1). Selected base-flow E. coli 

sampleswere analyzed for hostsource using 

genotypic, geographic-specific, librarybased methods (Dombek and others, 2000; 

Carson and others, 2003). Vertical waterqualityprofilesweredeterminedforselected 

impounded reaches of Brush Creek. (fig. 2).

 Sample locations were determined 

based on a variety of factors including 

proximity to tributaries, the combined 

sewer system area, and WWTPs (fig. 1). 

Six sites on the main stem of the Blue 

River (sites 1, 2, 7, 8, 13, and 14), four 

sites on the tributary Brush Creek (sites 9 

to 12), and three sites on the tributary 

Indian Creek (sites 3, 4, and 6) were sampled. Two stream sites, one in the basin 

(site 5, Tomahawk Creek) and one outside 

of the basin (site 19, South Grand River) 

were sampled as controlsfor aquatic-biota 

measurements. Data from four WWTPs 

(sites 15 to 18) located in the basin also 

were analyzed. 

Selected stream reaches of the Blue River Basin. (Top left, Blue River downstream from site 2 [fig. 

1]; top right, Indian Creek upstream from site 6; bottom left, Brush Creek downstream from site 11; 

bottom right, Blue River upstream from site 13.) 

U.S. Department of the Interior 

U.S. Geological Survey Printed on recycled paper 

USGS Fact Sheet FS–2006–3103 

July 2006
Figure 1. Location of study area, sampling sites, wastewater-treatment plants, and area of 

combined storm and santiary sewers. 

Major Factors Affecting StreamWater Quality 

The combination of numerous over-lapping, urban-related factors has adversely 

affected water quality and the ecological 

condition of several stream reaches in the 

Blue River Basin. Urbanization and floodcontrol projects have resulted in substantial 

loss of riparian vegetation, degraded stream 

habitat through stream channelization and 

streambank armoring, and resulted in extensive loss of native pool and riffle sequences, 

and altered flow regimes. Urban non-pointsource runoff contributed a substantial part 

of the pollutant load in the basin. In areas 

served by a combined sewer system and 

WWTPs, discharges of treated and 

untreated wastewater additionally contributed nutrients, OWCs, and pharmaceuticals 

to streams. Nutrient enrichment was 

common at many stream sites with concentrations greater than expected background, 

non-urban concentrations (Smith and others, 2003). Deleterious water-quality 

effects were most pronounced in lower 

Indian Creek (below site 4), the lower and 

middle reaches of the Blue River (below site 

7), and lower Brush Creek (below site 11). 

Although there was some daily and 

seasonal variability, WWTPs provided the 

dominant source of streamflow, nutrients, 

and OWCs and pharmaceutical compounds to the middle and lower Indian 

Creek and the Blue River during base 

flow. Downstream from WWTPs, effluent can comprise greater than 95 percent 

of base flow. Only a small part of effluent 

nutrients were removed by in-stream processes, an indication that such contributions frequently exceed the ecological 

assimilation capacity of many reaches. 

During storms, the predominant source of 

nutrients shifted from point sources to 

non-point sources. Examples of non-point 

sources that may contribute nutrients to 

streams include runoff from fields, parks, 

golf courses, lawns, and impervious surfaces; storm sewers; compromised sewer 

lines; and ground- and surface-water 

interactions with these sources. As flows 

increased, the concentration of dissolved 

nutrients decreased (figs. 3a and 3b) while 

concentrations of suspended nutrients, 

suspended sediment, and fecal indicator 

bacteria increased (fig. 3c to 3f). Suspended sediment and fecal indicator bacteria loads (concentration times flow) 
Figure 2. Views of impounded reaches of Brush 

Creek. 

increased substantially over those measured in base-flow samples at all stream 

sites. 

In Brush Creek, wet weather events 

provided the dominant source of nutrients. 

Storm-event nutrient loads, a combination 

of non-point and CSO sources, were 200 

to 300 times greater than base-flow loads. 

Because of hydrologic alterations to 

Brush Creek, particulate nutrients were 

trapped in impounded reaches—a process 

that facilitated algal growth in these 

reaches. 

Nutrients 

Total nitrogen and total phosphorus 

loads and yields (load divided by drainage 

area) were estimated at four basin sites to 

allow comparison between sites and to 

those estimated at sites outside of the 

basin (fig. 4). Approximately 60 percent 

of the total nitrogen and total phosphorus 

in the middle and lower Blue River originated from Indian Creek, smaller amounts 

from the upper Blue River (from 16 to 28 

percent), and less than 5 percent from 

Brush Creek. Nutrient yields from the 

lower Indian Creek (site 6) and the middle 

Blue River (site 7) were significantly 

greater than yields from the upper Blue 

River (site 2), lower Brush Creek (site 11), 

and sites outside the basin (fig. 4). Total 

nitrogen and total phosphorus yields from 

the upper Blue River and lower Brush 

Creek were not significantly different 

from one another. 

Organic Wastewater and Pharmaceutical Compounds 

Organic wastewater compounds analyzed included a suite of organic chemicals common to household, industrial, and 

personal care products, including, but not 

limited to, detergent by-products, disinfectants, antimicrobials, plasticizers, 

musk, and fragrance compounds. Pharmaceutical compounds included analgesics (acetaminophen and ibuprofen), an 

anti-convulsant (carbemazepine), antibiotics (sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim), cardiac and anti-clotting medications (dehydronifedipine, diltiazem, and 

warfarin), a cholesterol-regulator (gemfibrozil), a narcotic (codeine), and stimulants (caffeine and cotinine, a metabolite 

of nicotine). 

At sites on Indian Creek and the Blue 

River, organic wastewater and pharmaFigure 3. Concentrations of selected water-quality constituents in relation to discharge. 
Figure 4. Estimated yields of total nitrogen and total phosphorus at selected sites in the Blue 

River Basin from July 2002 through September 2004. 

ceutical compounds were largely attributable to WWTP discharges during base 

flow (figs. 5 and 6). Two classes of 

OWCs, defined operationally as detergents (consisting of surfactants and byproducts) and sterols (consisting of plant 

and animal sources such as cholesterol 

and coprostanol) constituted the majority 

of OWCs. Over-the-counter medications 

constituted the bulk of the pharmaceuticals. Concentrations of most OWCs and 

pharmaceuticals decreased in stormflow 

samples except for two classes of 

OWCs—pesticides and residues from 

hydrocarbon combustion and petroleum 

products—which increased during storms 

indicating substantial non-point source 

contributions of these compounds during 

runoff events. 

On Brush Creek, sources of OWCs and 

pharmaceuticals were largely attributable 

to a combination of wet weather non-point 

and CSO sources as evidenced by general 

increases in contaminant concentrations 

with flow. Increased OWC concentrations and streamflow resulted in OWC

 storm loads several orders of magnitude 

greater than in base flows (fig. 5). Frequent detections of wastewater compounds at site 9 (upstream from most 

CSOs) during base flow and stormflows 

indicated that other factors may be as 

important as CSOs in the occurrence of 

these compounds in Brush Creek. 

Bacteria Sources 

Bacteria in streams were largely the 

result of non-point source contributions 

during storms. Fecal coliform densities in 

Brush Creek were greatest during the 

period May through September of each 

year and correlated strongly with periods 

of precipitation greater than 0.5 inch. 

Based on genetic-source tracking in baseflow samples, average presumptive source 

of in-stream E. coli bacteria from human 

sources ranged from 28 to 42 percent, 

dogs ranged from 26 to 32 percent, geese 

contributed between 8 and 19 percent, and 

18 to 28 percent were from unknown 

sources. Bacteria sources and relative 

percentages changed temporally and 

likely changed in response to flow 

conditions. 

Brush Creek Impoundments 

Impounded reaches of Brush Creek 

alter stream hydrology and affect water 

quality. Vertical water-quality changes 

were greatest in the larger, deeper, downstream pool (known as Lake of the Enshriners) near site 12. Unlike the smaller, 

shallower, upper pools, Lake of the 

Enshriners was prone to thermal stratification. Algal blooms occurred during warm, 

sunny conditions (fig. 3) because Brush 

Creek was not nutrient limited. Biogeochemical activity in bottom sediments 

sometimes reduced and removed nitrogen 

from the system. During wet periods, precipitation events frequently caused 

replacement of impounded water which 

had the benefit of pushing out algae matter 

or stagnant, anoxic water. However, 

stormwater brought sediment, organic 

matter, and nutrients into impoundments 

where it collected. Biochemical oxygen 

demand often reduced impoundment 

oxygen concentrations for several days 

following storms. These processes, coupled with less mixing, resulted in mean 

daily dissolved oxygen concentrations in 

Brush Creek that were significantly less 

than values measured in the Blue River 

and were sometimes less than the minimum standard for full protection of 

aquatic life (fig. 7). The trophic state, a 

measure of biological productivity (or 

nutrient status), of Brush Creek impoundments was similar to other urban lakes in 

Missouri and ranged from oligotrophic 

(little productivity) after rainfall events to 

hypereutrophic (excessive productivity) 

during extended dry periods. 

Macroinvertebrate Community 

Assessment 

The diversity and abundance of stream 

fauna measured at upper Blue River sites 

(sites 1 and 2) consistently scored at, or 

above, the control site (site 19) indicating 

that streamwater quality was sufficient to 

support a diverse biological component in 

the upper Blue River (fig. 8). Aquatic 

community integrity declined downstream in the basin in response to 

increases in several inter-related urbanization factors including declines in vegeta­
tive cover, increases in percent impervious cover, increased nutrient enrichment, 

and increased wastewater inputs. 

Figure 5. Total instaneous organic wastewater compound load by stream reach in samples collecte

between August 1998 and September 2004. 

d

Figure 6. Total pharmaceutical load in base-flow stream samples collected between May 

1999 and June 2004, most frequently detected compounds, and percentage of total load. 

References 

Carson, A.C., Shear, B.L., Ellersieck, 

M.R., and Schnell, J.D., 2003, Comparison of ribotyping and repetitive 

extragenic palindromic-PCR for identification of fecal Escherichia coli from 

humans and animals: Applied and 

Environmental Microbiology, v. 3, 

p. 1,836–1,839. 

Dombek, P.E., Johnson, L.K., Zimmerley, 

S.T., and Sadowsky, M.J., 2000, Use of 

repetitive DNA sequences and the PCR 

to differentiate Escherichia coli isolates 

from human and animal sources: 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, v. 66, p. 2,572–2,577. 

Smith, R.A., Alexander, R.B., and 

Schwartz, G.E., 2003, Natural background concentrations of nutrients in 

streams and rivers of the coterminous 

United States: Environmental Science 

and Technology, v. 37, no. 14, 

p. 3,039–3,047. 

State of Missouri, 2005, Code of State 

Regulations, Title 10, Division 20, 

Chapter 7–Water Quality, 135 p. 

Accessed May 2006 at URL http:// 

www.sos.mo.gov/adrules/csr/current/ 

10csr/10c20–7a.pdf. 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 

1999, Combined sewer overflows— 

Guidance for monitoring and modeling: 

Washington, D.C., Office of Water, 

EPA 832–B–99–002, variously paged. 

U.S. Geological Survey, 2005, National 

Water-Quality Assessment Program 

retrospective database for nutrients in 

ground and surface water: accessed 

September 2005 at URL http:// 

water.usgs.gov/nawqa/nutrients/ 

dataset/retro.data.sw. 

Wilkison, D.H., Armstrong, D.J., and 

Blevins, D.B., 2002, Effects of wastewater and combined sewer overflows 

on water quality in the Blue River 

Basin, Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas, July 1998–October 2000: U.S. 

Geological Survey Water-Resources 

Investigations Report 02–4107, 162 p. 
Figure 7. Time-series plots of mean daily dissolved oxygen concentration from October 2000 through October 2004. 

Figure 8. Sum of 10 proportionally scaled aquatic-life metrics by site. 

Wilkison, D.H., Armstrong, D.J., Brown, 

R.E., Poulton, B.C., Cahill, J.D., and 

Zaugg, S.D., 2005, Water-quality and 

biologic data for the Blue River Basin, 

Kansas City metropolitan area, October 

2000 to October 2004: U.S. Geological 

Survey Data-Series Report 127, 158 p. 

Wilkison, D.H., Armstrong, D.J., Norman, R.D., Poulton, B.C., Furlong, 

E.T., and Zaugg, S.D., 2006, Waterquality in the Blue River Basin, Kansas 

City metropolitan area, July 1998 to 

October 2004: U.S. Geological Survey 

Scientific Investigations Report 

06–5147, 170 p. 

For more information contact any of the following: 

For water information: For more information on all USGS Additional earth science information 

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1400 Independence Road, Mail Stop 100 images, and computerized data), call “Home Page” on the Internet at 

Rolla, Missouri 65401 1-888-ASK-USGS. “http://www.usgs.gov”. 

(573) 308-3667 or “http://mo.water.usgs.gov”.