Water Hogs

 Editor's note: Correction appended.

Kansas City is known for its water: the odorous Brush Creek, the murky Missouri River, hundreds of fountains — and now, monster mansions guzzling millions of gallons of water a year.

With lawn-watering season upon us, the Department of Burnt Ends decided it was time to call out the top water users in Kansas City, Missouri. So we asked the city's Water Services Department to produce a list of the top-25 water users from 2007. What we found was that the city's top user went through enough water to fill a 50-gallon bathtub 89 times a day for a whole year.

(Contrary to what the Department of Burnt Ends first reported, the average amount of water used by a family in Kansas City, Missouri, is 5,984 gallons per month — 71,808 gallons per year. For the record, that's 1,436 bathtubs.)

Most of them said they were completely unaware of their high consumption. (Were water bills in the thousands of dollars not a hint?) Just the same, they used more than a million gallons of water last year. According to the water department, the average family uses just 6,200 gallons.

Here, then, are Kansas City's top-five most outrageous water users.

5. C. Floyd Anderson Gallons used: 1,206,524 Yearly water bill: $3,117 Anderson is the owner of Opportunities Unlimited and a chairman of Northland National Bank. His water-sucking estate graced the pages of The Kansas City Star back in 1991, when Anderson paid about $2 million for the home. The Andersons, out of the country for an extended vacation, were unable to comment.

4. H. Drier Jr. Gallons used: 1,249,160 Yearly water bill: $3,266 Drier died in 1997, and his widow, Joyce, didn’t want to comment on her water usage, fearing the water department. “I have had troubles in the past with the water company, and now they are helping me,” Joyce Drier says. “I don’t want to start a vendetta against them.” Apparently, you don’t screw around with the water department.

3. Alan Atterbury Gallons used: 1,533,648 Yearly water bill: $3,540 Atterbury is a Midland Properties executive. We called Atterbury, and Andy Anderson returned the call. Anderson explains that the property has suffered from leaks that could be to blame. Also, there’s the watering. “We looked at the history of the usage,” Anderson says, “and the winter was lower than the summer because of irrigation for the landscaping.” Thanks for the explanation, Andy. Now we know that plants don’t require watering in the winter.

2. Rachel Bachenberg Gallons used: 1,575,288 Yearly water bill: $3,851 Despite being No. 2 on the list, Bachenberg doesn’t seem to fit in among KC’s biggest water users. In fact, her house is a shoebox compared with the monster mansions of the other folks on the list. She claims to have no idea how she ended up on this list, other than having had a massive leak last year. Colleen Newman, a public information officer for the water department, confirms that a leak from a toilet is a silent killer for water users. “A leaking toilet can fill an Olympic-sized pool in a couple of months,” Newman says. Still, that must have been one hell of a leak, considering that every two days last year, Bachenberg used more water than the average homeowner does in a year.

1. Charles and Patty Garney Gallons used: 1,630,640 Yearly water bill: $4,115 Charles Garney is CEO of Briarcliff Development Company and No. 1 on the list of top water users. Charles’ wife, Patty, is surprised that their place is on the list. “It is hard to believe. It is only the two of us here,” she says. “I suppose we should look into it, but I’m at a loss.” Patty Garney says the house doesn’t even have a pool. When a Department of Burnt Ends associate went by to take a look one afternoon, the extremely lush lawns were being watered.

Below is the complete list of top 25 water users.

Name	address	occupation	consumption in gallons	dollars
Charles Garney	4200 N Hickory Lane, 64116	Briarcliff Development CEO	1,630,640	$4,115.93
Rachel Bachenberg	7229 Belleview Ave 64114	N/A	1,575,288	$3,851.55
Alan Atterbury	1228 W 57th Street 64113	Midland Properties Exec.	1,533,648	$3,540.23
The late H. Dreier Jr.	6344 Ward Parkway 64113	Builder	1,249,160	$3,266.16
C. Floyd Anderson	5550 Wardparkway 64113	Retired Chairman of Northland National Bank	1,206,524	$3,177.12
James Spair	8105 n pontiac ave 64151	Royal Seamless	1,178,100	$2,994.25
Richard Berkley	1014 Greenway Ave 64113	Ex-Mayor	1,060,664	$2,736.22
Alexander Kemper	14909 Little Blue Road 64130	Owns Perfect Commerce-E-Scout	1,048,696	$2,866.47
David Brinkerhoff	1257 W 57th Street 64151	Exec. V.P. of Westropp	1,046,452	$2,816.06
James Wagy	5617 NW 60th Street 64151	N/A	1,024,012	$2,592.84
David Stickelber	4335 McGee St 64111	Retired Mary Atkins Trustee	985,116	$2,650.00
John Dillingham	4040 N Claymont Drive 64116	Self-Employed, Consultant, Civic Leader	968,660	$2,501.45
Joseph Ungaschick	5335 Cherry St64110	N/A	897,600	$2,345.19
Chris Lentz	4206 Roanoke Rd 64111	N/A	887,876	$2,246.00
Ronald Jury	1228 W 56th St 64113	Jury and Associates, Owner of President Hotel	886,380	$2,399.59
Edgar Walsworth	5225 Ward Parkway 64112	Walsworth Publishing Company	884,884	$2,332.94
Randall Reed	6102 NW Tiffany Springs Pkwy 64154	Randy Reed Pontiac Buick-GMC/Auto Repair	833,272	$2,189.35
Ann Dickinson	1200 W 55th St 64113	Dickinson Financial Exec	832,524	$2,171.98
Adam Long	1000 W 66 Ter 64113	N/A	797,368	$2,248.23
William Aliber	1215 W 64th St 64113	Crown Media Holdings Inc.	796,620	$2,199.77
Amy Holewinski	1034 Westover Rd 64113	Dickinson Financial Exec	784,652	$2,166.07
Lathrop Gates	1020 W 52nd St 64112	Investor, Attorney	761,464	$2,025.52
J Gerald Meyers	208 W 125th Ter 64145	N/A	748,000	$2,193.38
Leon Jacobs	6505 State Line Rd 64113	Developer	745,008	$2,142.34
Mark Reichle	116 E 46th St 64112 1   2   Next Page » show/hide comments (3) write your comment I just have a question. Why, when we know that water is a very important resource that should not be squandered do we not put limits on the amount that can be used by private individuals as well as businesses. When businesses go over their alloted water rights they have to pay a premium, or in some cases face a shut down (I am speaking of very high water usage company's). Set a limit for private individuals and make them live with it. We do not need the highly manicured lawns. Yes, they are pretty, but they are not a necessity. Comment by Jaded from Shawnee on Jul 17th, 2008, 09:43 am I think the quoted statistics are way off. A family using an average of 6,200 gallons a month, maybe, but 6,200 gallons a year -- no way! Comment by Ricke from KCMO on Jul 19th, 2008, 23:17 pm Ricke from KCMO, we received the figures from the Kansas City Water Department. We were skeptical at first as well so we had them double-check to make sure it was accurate, and they assured us that it is. Comment by Hannah Zimmerman from Kansas City on Jul 22nd, 2008, 09:57 am About Us | Work for The Pitch | Esubscribe | Free Kansas City Classifieds | National Advertising | Privacy Policy | Problem With the Site? | RSS | Site Map © 2008 Village Voice Media All rights reserved. Advanced Archive Search >> The Pitch Insiders Local food, music and news blasts Free Stuff Subscribe buy, sell, trade (1,732) musician (756) rentals (1,289) jobs (1,744) adult entertainment (1,287) Free Classifieds Kansas City, MO Personal of the Day More Personals >> Now Click This Autobuzz Best of KC-Vote now! Online Menu Guide Crossroads Map and Gallery Guide Virtual Job Fair Digital Jukebox The Pitchcast