EPA Expands Real-Time Monitoring of Kansas City Area Streams, Launches Mobile Water App

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and local partners gathered on Wednesday, June 27 in Riverside, Mo., to announce an expansion of water quality monitoring of Kansas City area streams and introduce a related application for smart phones and mobile devices.

The free application is available now for iPhone, iTouch and iPad through Apple’s iTunes store. A version for Android phones will be available in the future.

EPA is providing $156,000 for in-stream monitoring equipment and satellite technology to supplement an existing urban water-monitoring network installed by EPA staff in 2011. One use of data collected by the equipment is to provide real-time estimates of bacteria concentrations in streams, which allows citizens to make informed decisions regarding recreation.

The free mobile application was developed in conjunction with the University of Missouri-Kansas City as part of a broader collaboration called KCWaters. The application provides users with a color code for each of 10 streams denoting recreational activities that should be acceptable based on an estimate of the average concentration of E.coli bacteria that might be found in the stream during the previous hour.   

EPA oversees the protection of water quality as required by the Clean Water Act. The Agency is working with the public, community leaders, local and state agencies to meet the growing needs and demands on our water resources.