Turning Wastewater Planning, and Its Hundred-Million-Dollar Implications, Into a Source of Community Pride  

Johnson County Wastewater (JCW) partnered with HDR to update its Integrated Plan, a long-range roadmap that balances regulatory compliance, infrastructure renewal and community growth while maintaining affordable rates for over 600,000 residents. The 2024 update focused on aligning capital investments with JCW’s core values: environmental protection, customer service, and community enhancement. 

To achieve this, our team helped JCW translate priorities into defensible investment decisions. Through robust community engagement, including a survey with over 2,000 responses, we incorporated public input into a multi-criteria decision analysis framework. Residents ranked priorities tied to JCW’s mission, such as water quality, reliability, affordability and community growth. This data shaped how projects were scored and sequenced, allowing investments to reflect what mattered most to customers. 

The survey also included open-response fields, generating hundreds of unsolicited comments praising JCW’s essential services. HDR and JCW transformed these comments into banners and posters displayed at treatment plants, operations buildings and customer service areas. This visible recognition celebrates community appreciation, strengthens workforce pride and reinforces the connection between daily operations and public trust. 

A key outcome of the Integrated Plan was a transparent, data-driven prioritization that resonated with elected officials and customers alike, helping JCW secure a consistent annual rate increase to provide financial stability and affordability to fund the most critical upgrades over the next five years. By linking rate adjustments to tangible community benefits such as healthier waterways, enhanced reliability and long-term viability, JCW gained strong support from decision-makers to complete $2.9 billion in infrastructure projects over the 25-year horizon. 

This approach has guided major projects in the county, including the Tomahawk Creek Wastewater Treatment Facility Improvements, which expanded the treatment facility's capacity and replaced outdated technology with advanced processes. Expanding this treatment facility enabled JCW to treat all flows from this service area, saving the county an estimated $785 million over the next 40 years while improving effluent quality for cleaner streams. The ongoing Nelson Wastewater Treatment Facility Improvements, JCW’s largest investment to date (approximately $600 million), will deliver state-of-the-art treatment capacity, reduce wet-weather impacts and support regional growth. Both projects exemplify how integrated planning advances environmental protection, economic resilience and community well-being. 

By connecting infrastructure decisions to community values, JCW is able to communicate the overall value of water in their community and help legacy investments protect public health, foster resilience and support long-term prosperity.