Imagine if drinking water quit flowing from the Missouri River to Kansas City taps | Opinion

We’ve all heard the fun fact that our body is made up of 60-70% water, but how often do we consider the full picture of the role water plays in our daily lives? Taking a shower, running the laundry, cooking, and cleaning — none of it would be possible without reliable and safe water. “Water is life” may sound like a cliché, but without water, life would look very different, and ultimately cease to exist.

Imagine a Day Without Water, led by the 501(c)(3) nonprofit U.S. Water Alliance, is an annual opportunity to consider how much of our daily lives are impacted by water and how we can work together to protect our most vital resource.

As a water engineer, my days consist of designing and implementing the inner workings of our local water and wastewater treatment plants, giving me an up-close look at our region’s water and the systems behind it. While my work includes analyzing sewer mains, water treatment plant development, quality assurance and so forth, it’s not lost on me that the ultimate goal is providing Kansas City with clean, dependable water.

So many of us are fortunate enough to turn on the faucet mindlessly, not having to consider where that water came from or how it was treated, making it safe to drink or use. But behind that clean water is miles and miles of pipe that transported it from the treatment plant. Here in the Kansas City area, the Missouri River is the heart of our water supply, and what comes out of the river to be treated and delivered into our homes and communities is eventually cycled back into the river as wastewater.

Our water supplies are finite: The water we rely on today is the same water we’ll rely on in the decades to come. This is why it’s essential we consider what is being deposited into our waterways. As we face new challenges such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — the human-made chemicals found in nonstick cookware and weatherproof coatings that are building up in water sources, also known as PFAS — new technologies are required to address these challenges and safeguard our waterways.

So how do we protect the longevity of our water sources? By being mindful of what we’re putting into our water. Proper disposal of household chemicals, batteries, paint and the like is crucial to the health of our water sources. Beyond that, something as simple as monitoring for leaks and reporting them quickly can have a huge impact on water conservation efforts. The water you might see running down the road has most likely been treated and pumped. This costs not only money but labor, chemicals and energy to get it to that point, making it all the more critical to conserve treated water.

This Oct. 17, Imagine a Day Without Water, I urge you to join me in reflecting on water’s significance in our lives — from brushing our teeth to powering our bodies — and our growing duty to protect it. It takes all of us to ensure that the water we use today will be around to serve the generations of tomorrow.

Brooke Hudlemeyer is a Kansas City water engineering expert with a focus in sewer mains, water lines and more for engineering firm Garver.