Lance Burr just wants to go swimming. But Lawrence's growth and the detrimental environmental effects that have followed, he says, make it impossible.

Specifically, Burr would like to take a dip in the Kansas River. But state health officials say it's a bad idea the water is too dirty for safe swimming or fishing. It has been contaminated by sewage and agricultural run-off.

So Burr must content himself with looking nostalgically at old pictures showing the river full of swimmers.

"They had swimming clubs back then," he said. "Now we have warnings we can't have contact with the river because of fecal coliform and a lot of other nasty things.

"Until we deal with these issues, our growth is going to degrade the environment."

But while he's dismayed by the environmental impacts, Burr sees a positive side to the city's growth: New uses are being found for more old houses and other structures in town.

"There's lots of restoration going on; that's because of growth, so there's some benefit," said Burr, a Lawrence attorney and member of Friends of the Kaw.

And he's pleased by the official support for maintaining historic neighborhoods and the integrity of Lawrence's downtown. After all, that's another form of environmental preservation.

"When you walk down the sidewalk," he said, "it is an environment."

'A catch-up game'

But Burr and other area residents still are worried about growth's impact on the natural environment.

"I think right now we're having to face a catch-up game with environmental issues, things we let slip," said Paul Liechti, assistant director of Kansas University's Kansas Biological Survey.

Part of the problem, concerned residents say, is that there is simply more trash. And having to deal with additional garbage has more consequences than just unsightly streets and yards.

"Growth in Lawrence demands we provide more services to a growing citizenry," said Mollie Mangerich, operations supervisor for the city's waste reduction and recycling division.

"This places a strain on our fiscal resources, in that we must hire more people, purchase more equipment, increase our facilities and operational hours in order to pick up more trash, yard waste, tires and hazardous waste."

All of which creates an environmental domino effect.

"The more people, the more trash generated," Mangerich said, "and the more fuel burned by sanitation trucks to pick up our waste."

Sprawl a concern

"Probably the foremost impact is sprawl," said Charles Benjamin, a Lawrence resident and attorney for the Sierra Club. "One of the things that sprawl does is eat up habitat for wildlife. Secondly, it eats up farmland. Particularly in this part of the state, we have a lot of rich farmland."

He sees the Burr's perspective on restoration as one way the Lawrence area can avoid the pitfalls of urban sprawl and ease the costs of growth on taxpayers. Those costs are for necessities like new roads, sewers and services required to serve new development.

"The philosophy of zoning is that you grow from the inside out that you infill your city, the blighted areas and so on, instead of the outskirts of town so you don't overextend your services," he said.

Ardys Ramberg of the East Lawrence Neighborhood Assn. said such efforts make the city more attractive, as well.

"I would try to keep the ambiance of the city as it has been," she said. "I like that there is an interest downtown in keeping the buildings (nice). I appreciate that they are having new buildings happen in character with the rest of downtown. I think one of the main things we have here is important historical significance that needs to be enhanced."

Benjamin said growth also causes drainage problems.

"The more you pave over a surface, the more you have problems with run-off," he said. "The ground will absorb rain, but if you put a hard surface over that, the water's got to go somewhere."

Attorney Bruce Plenk also is worried about water.

"I'd like to see efforts made to clean up the water," Plenk said. "I think the fact we're getting such low-quality water in the Kaw is pretty depressing."

County impacts

The city's environmental impact is magnified out into Douglas County, Plenk said.

"The $43 million being spent to expand the city sewage treatment plant, while deliberately choosing to disconnect from growth in septic tanks in the county, is probably one of the most obvious examples of how growth is affecting things, because we're going to have hundreds more septic tanks without any viable means for treating the sewage."

The expansion and upgrade to the treatment plant, including a new septic-waste processing facility, has caused the rates for dumping septic waste to skyrocket.

Air pollution is another side effect of growth that poses an environmental problem. Traffic between Lawrence and the Kansas City area has grown so much, Benjamin said, that air quality is being affected. The federal government might bring Douglas County into a proposed air pollution control zone as a result.

There are solutions to the problems.

"I think first you preserve open space, then you develop public transportation, then you figure out ways to encourage development in a way that enhances, not detracts, from the city," Plenk said.

Most environmental advocates aren't opposed to development, but they believe government officials should do a better job of planning for it.

"All too often, we take a look at an area at least in the development community try to knock it all down and plant it all back," Liechti said. "You can do development in a more environmentally friendly way."

Seeking middle ground

Not that it's easy.

"I sympathize with the commissioners," said Benjamin, a former Harvey County commissioner. "They get a tremendous amount of pressure on them to allow growth, for jobs and development and that sort of thing."

But when government deviates from the plan to please developers, he said, it sets a precedent.

"Once you set that precedent, you've got to do it for the next person who comes along and pretty soon it snowballs," he said. "After that, what's the use of having a plan?"

Added Plenk: "I think the city ought to be leading development. The way things are so screwed up now is a warped reliance on laissez-faire capitalism, that someone who's out to make money is going to have the public interest at heart."

Still, Liechti said, Lawrence compares favorably with other area communities in handling the environmental consequences of growth, particularly with efforts to preserve green space.

"We've got a great natural environment as well as a good community to live in," he said. "Our challenge is to keep it that way, and that's fairly tough. But I think everybody is aware of it now. We just have to keep on the alert."

Meanwhile, Burr is still waiting to swim the Kaw.

"This is part of civil rights," he said. "When I can't swim in the river without people thinking I'm a fool or ignoring the warnings of KDHE, I think that infringes on my rights."

And he just might take his rights back.

"I might do it anyway and go home and shower," he said. "Just because I don't like somebody to say I can't swim in it."