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.

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Below is the complete list of top 25 water users.

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