KC Water Expands Laboratory for the Next Generation of Testing
Kansas City’s KC Water laboratory, the backbone of the city’s water quality testing for over 30 years, is undergoing its first major expansion and renovation to boost capacity, enhance safety, and meet future demands while maintaining uninterrupted operations. Image: Rendering courtesy of KC Water Department
Kansas City’s drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater are monitored daily by the KC Water laboratory, a facility that has been the backbone of the city’s water quality testing program for more than three decades. Now, for the first time since it was constructed in the early 1990s, the lab is undergoing a major expansion and renovation—a project that will increase testing capacity, enhance safety, and prepare the city for future regulatory and technological demands.
The initiative, which broke ground in August 2025, represents both a critical infrastructure upgrade and a valuable case study for other lab planners, architects, and end users embarking on similar projects. With construction phased through 2027, KC Water has committed to keeping operations uninterrupted throughout the build, ensuring the city’s water quality monitoring continues without compromise.
Why expansion was needed
The decision to expand the KC Water laboratory was not made lightly. According to Jackson Overstreet, public information officer for the KC Water Department with the City Manager’s Office, “KC Water’s current laboratory has not undergone any major updates or renovations in more than 30 years. While equipment inside the building has been updated, the lab’s testing demand has increased significantly in the timeframe since it was built in the 90s.”
That increased demand reflects a confluence of factors: stricter state and federal regulations, a growing population base, and the added complexity of Kansas City’s water and wastewater systems. Benchmarking against peer utilities also revealed that the facility was lagging behind modern design standards in terms of capacity and layout.
For laboratory leaders and municipal utilities, this illustrates an important point: even if instrumentation is updated regularly, facilities themselves must evolve in parallel to accommodate new workflows, expanded testing methodologies, and more stringent compliance requirements.
Integrating staff input
KC Water’s lab expansion was shaped by end-user input, with staff surveys, focus groups, and review sessions guiding the design of workstations, storage, and testing spaces to improve efficiency and safety. Image: Rendering courtesy of KC Water Department
End-user involvement was a cornerstone of KC Water’s planning process. Leadership and the project manager engaged laboratory staff from the outset, using surveys, focus groups, and review sessions to shape the design.
As Overstreet explains, “Throughout the planning process, KC Water leadership and the project manager spoke constantly with lab staff. Project manager gathered input through surveys, focus groups, and review sessions. These recommendations influenced the design of workstations, storage areas, and the separation of different testing functions.”
For lab designers and architects, this collaborative approach underscores the value of co-creation. By prioritizing staff feedback, the new facility will reflect the lived realities of those who perform daily operations—a strategy that reduces inefficiencies and avoids costly redesigns later.
Like many long-serving labs, KC Water’s facility was constrained by overcrowded workstations, limited storage, and shared spaces that sometimes compromised efficiency and safety.
“In the current set up, laboratory staff deal with overcrowded workstations, limited storage space for samples, reagents and instruments. Because of the tight space, it has led to creating shared or multi-use areas. This sometimes creates efficiency and safety concerns,” notes Overstreet.
The expansion directly addresses these issues by creating dedicated chemistry and microbiology spaces, upgrading ventilation and lighting, and introducing ergonomic bench layouts. Improvements to sample receiving and processing areas will also streamline workflow while reducing cross-contamination risks.
For other organizations, this highlights the importance of designing for both operational clarity and biosafety. Clearly separated spaces and purpose-built layouts not only improve productivity but also safeguard the accuracy of results—critical in any regulated testing environment.
Ensuring continuity of operations
To keep critical water testing uninterrupted during construction, KC Water is using phased relocations, temporary modular labs, and contingency partnerships to ensure resilience and compliance throughout the expansion. Image: Rendering courtesy of KC Water Department
One of the project’s most challenging aspects is maintaining uninterrupted testing during construction. Water quality cannot be put on hold, so KC Water devised a comprehensive strategy to safeguard operations.
“KC Water intentionally phased the construction in a way that the lab will remain operational at all times during the work. There are temporary modular lab spaces on site to help staff maintain testing capacity. The department has contingency agreements with partner laboratories for backup if certain specific tests need to be outsourced,” Overstreet says.
This phased and layered approach—combining temporary on-site facilities with third-party contingencies—offers a strong model for other organizations planning renovations in mission-critical labs. Building redundancy into the plan ensures resilience, even in the face of unexpected challenges.
Smooth transitions into new laboratory environments require careful staging. KC Water has mapped out a phased relocation process that prioritizes compliance-critical instruments and equipment.
“Relocation moves will be staged in phases to limit any downtime of certain areas. All compliance critical instruments and equipment will be relocated first,” says Overstreet. “There will be temporary staging areas planned for ongoing work to protect project and testing timelines. All staff will be trained in the new space and safety systems before moving into the expanded facility.”
For project managers and facility planners, this phased approach reduces operational risks while ensuring staff confidence in the new systems. Training employees on safety systems before they assume full operations is a best practice that minimizes disruption and builds user ownership of the space.
Designing for the future
KC Water’s lab expansion is designed for both flexibility and sustainability, featuring future-ready infrastructure, adaptable layouts, and LEED Gold strategies to support evolving regulations while reducing environmental impact. Image: Rendering courtesy of KC Water Department
Laboratories in water quality testing must be inherently adaptable, given the evolving nature of regulations and analytical technology. KC Water emphasized this point during design.
“This expansion has been designed with future flexibility in mind. That includes making infrastructure upgrades like power, ventilation and data connection to anticipate the next generation of needs, not just what meets today's usage,” says Overstreet. “Flexible layouts will allow for additional instruments and expanded testing methods as regulations evolve.”
This forward-looking philosophy—designing for tomorrow rather than simply solving today’s problems—is essential in regulated laboratory environments. Infrastructure upgrades, flexible layouts, and scalable systems all provide a buffer against obsolescence.
The KC Water laboratory project is being designed to LEED Gold standards, with a 9,500-sf addition. Sustainability measures include solar panels, high-efficiency HVAC systems, water-efficient plumbing fixtures, native plantings, natural daylighting, and low-E glass. The design also incorporates low-VOC finishes, polished concrete floors in select areas, and EV charging stations for both personal and potentially fleet vehicles.
By embedding sustainability into the design, KC Water not only reduces the lab’s long-term operational costs but also demonstrates alignment with citywide climate and efficiency goals. For lab designers, this reinforces the growing expectation that laboratories—traditionally energy-intensive buildings—must balance high performance with environmental responsibility.
Lessons for other projects
KC Water’s laboratory expansion offers several key takeaways for lab planners, architects, and end users:
Plan for facility renewal on a generational timescale. Instrumentation may be replaced frequently, but core facilities must also keep pace with changing demands.
Engage end users throughout design. Staff feedback on workflows, storage, and safety is critical to shaping functional spaces.
Prioritize continuity planning. Modular labs, phased relocations, and external contingencies ensure uninterrupted operations.
Design with future flexibility in mind. Scalable infrastructure, open layouts, and robust utilities enable adaptation to regulatory and technological change.
Integrate sustainability and safety. High-performance buildings can and should align with environmental goals while enhancing occupant well-being.
