Wastewater
Phone: 913-715-8500
11811 S. Sunset Drive, Suite 2500, Olathe, Kansas 66061
Johnson County Wastewater’s user charges are evaluated annually for their sufficiency in covering the cost of providing wastewater collection and treatment service. Revenues from user charges represent the majority of JCW’s revenues. All JCW customers pay user charges that include a bi-monthly service charge and a charge for wastewater volume.
JCW also provides ancillary services to meet the specific needs of some, but not all, customers. These services may include plan reviews, permits, inspections and other services. The costs of providing these ancillary services are reviewed periodically for their sufficiency to recover the related costs. Click here for a list of the 2020 fees.
Johnson County Wastewater has been a long-time member of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA). NACWA is a national organization that represents the wastewater treatment industry for legislative, regulatory, and legal advocacy. Each year, NACWA recognizes member agencies for excellence in permit compliance through three different award categories, which include a platinum award, a gold award, and a silver award. The Platinum awards recognize facilities with a consistent record of full compliance for a consecutive five-year period. Gold awards are presented to facilities with no permit violations for the entire calendar year. And Silver awards are presented to facilities with no more than five violations per the calendar year.
In 2018, Johnson County Wastewater had a 99.98 percent compliance rate regarding National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) limits. Of a possible 3,567 violations, the department recorded only six violations for the entire year. JCW received recognition for all treatment plants as follows: Blue River Main Wastewater Treatment Facility received the Platinum 13 (recognizing it for 13 years of 100% compliance), Mill Creek Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility received the Platinum 12 (recognizing it for 12 years of 100% compliance), New Century AirCenter Wastewater Treatment Facility received the Platinum 7 (recognizing it for seven years of 100% compliance), Douglas L. Smith Middle Basin Wastewater Treatment Facility received the Platinum 5 (recognizing it for five years of 100% compliance), and the Myron K. Nelson and Tomahawk Creek Wastewater Treatment Facilities received the Silver Award (5 or less violations). These awards and recognition on the national level are a tribute to the dedicated staff at each facility who work hard to achieve compliance with the regulations and safely return clean water back to Johnson County’s waterways.
Johnson County Wastewater (JCW) has contracted with Beneficial Reuse Management (BRM) to clean out accumulated solids (biosolids) in five lagoon cells at the Mill Creek Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant, located at 20001 W. 47th Street in Shawnee, KS. These cleanouts are required every few years, with the last cleanout project occurring in 2016. The current project began on August 5, 2019 with an anticipated duration of 4 months, depending on the weather.
Lagoon cleanouts have the potential for producing minor odors. These odors, if they occur, can last a few days. JCW and BRM are conscious of this issue and are monitoring the site and taking precautions to minimize odors to the extent possible.
To report lagoon odors, please fill out the Odor Complaint Form on the right or contact customer service at (913) 715-8590.
We at JCW appreciate your patience as we work through this important project.
In the past, some Johnson County homeowners have faced the frustrating challenge of basement flooding during extremely heavy rains. There are several common causes for wet basements. Because Johnson County Wastewater wants to help you better protect your home during these rains, a Backup Prevention Program is available to homeowners. This program is voluntary and provides funding to eligible homeowners so they may install a backup prevention device or make plumbing modifications on their property.
For details about this program and whether you might be eligible, go to Johnson County Wastewater Backup Prevention Program.
Homeowners are responsible for the repair/replacement of their private service line from the home’s connection to the point of connection on the public sanitary sewer main. The service line sometimes runs under paved public streets in public street right-of-way. The cost for replacement of a private sanitary sewer service line serving a single family residential property can be substantial and including the cost of public street restoration can make the repair even more costly.
To mitigate public street restoration expense, the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners approved a street restoration reimbursement program in March 2016 which allows reimbursement of up to $5,000 per single family residential property for restoration of the paved public street in the public street right-of-way. The program is administered by Johnson County Wastewater and is subject to the homeowner meeting specific application and qualification requirements. All private service line repairs must meet Johnson County Wastewater inspection standards and all street repairs must meet City permit and inspection standards.
Homeowners would be informed by a plumbing company or by Johnson County Wastewater if the issue is with their private street line and whether or not it will require street restoration and therefore, would qualify for reimbursement.
The reimbursement may be subject to federal or state income tax and participants are advised to consult with their tax advisers.
The program has been funded for a total of $500,000. Applicants must meet the following requirements in order to be eligible for reimbursement consideration:
Eligibility
Once the total allotted funds are exhausted, additional funding for the program will be evaluated by the Board.
Complete information and required documentation is available online.
111 S Cherry St, Olathe, KS 66061 | 913-715-5000 | TDD: 800-766-3777
© Johnson County, KS, USA 2020
