Who we are
Lenexa is a community that promotes sustainable development by respecting, conserving and restoring the natural environment. Rain to Recreation is Lenexa’s innovative regional, watershed approach to address stormwater quantity and quality issues.

Mission
Rain to Recreation program aims to reduce flooding, protect water quality and natural habitat and provide educational and recreational opportunities for its residents.

History Born of Vision 2020 and necessitated by severe flooding in 1998 and the Clean Water Act, the Rain to Recreation program was created in 2000.  Like many other suburbs around the country, Lenexa previously adhered to a philosophy of conveying stormwater runoff downstream as quickly as possible, resulting in significant flooding, severe stream bank erosion, polluted waterways and exorbitant infrastructure maintenance costs.

However, a survey of Lenexa businesses and homeowners conducted in 1999 found that 80 percent considered water quality a priority and later that same year, 78 percent of Lenexa voters passed an one-eighth cent sales tax to fund a stormwater program. Rain to Recreation views stormwater as an amenity, not a liability, and focuses on green infrastructure solutions to prevent pollution and reduce runoff, achieving compliance through community commitment.

Accomplishments
Lenexa began planning stormwater management approach four years prior to receiving a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Phase II permit in 2004. Rain to Recreation established in the summer of 2000 to implement the city’s new, innovative stormwater management program.

A watershed management master plan in 2000 created the framework for the adoption of a Land Disturbance Ordinance to support the city’s erosion and sediment control efforts in 2001.

In March 2002, Lenexa was the first municipality in the Kansas City metropolitan area to adopt a Stream Setback Ordinance, proving itself a regional leader in watershed protection. Based on the Lenexa Stream Inventory (2001), an environmental evaluation of the streams and adjacent riparian corridors, this ordinance defines streams by environmental rating and stream order to determine setback distances.

Post-construction practices were adopted in 2004, using a Best Management Practices manual that identifies a minimum level of service to achieve when mitigating stormwater runoff. The stormwater management plan was revised in 2005 to accommodate the requirements of the NPDES permit and an Illicit Discharge and Detection Ordinance was passed in 2006.

Together, these efforts will protect water quality and reduce the effects of new development on local streams. Working together with local residents, Rain to Recreation enhances the quality of the natural and built environments, ultimately conserving and even restoring natural resources.

Funding
In 1999, and again in 2004, Lenexa voters approved a one-eighth cent sales tax to partially fund the new watershed approach by an overwhelming margin (78 percent). In 2000, the City Council established a stormwater utility fee collected as a special assessment on the Johnson County property tax bill. Lastly, the city implemented a systems “capital” development charge so that as developments are built, growth pays for growth (2004). Rain to Recreation received some funding from the city’s general fund account until 2006.

Facts
Population: 44,000 residents
Land area: 34.4 square miles
Persons per square mile: 1,279 persons
Annual average rainfall: 37 inches/year
Main surface water pollutants: Sediment, fecal coliform bacteria, phosphorus
Storm drains maintained: More than 15,000 inlets
Miles of city-maintained streams: 26 miles
Lenexa Watershed Division employees: 17 full-time employees