07/21/2026
Colleen is such a huge contributor to making our community a !
For Stormwater Quality Coordinator Colleen Armstrong, her position in the city is more than just a job. She has had a passion for protecting the environment from a young age growing up in the Lake of the Ozarks. Watching the local beaches close due to pollution, Colleen was inspired to attend the University of Missouri where she got a degree in Environmental Science and Soil Science.
“I am really passionate about what we put on the ground and how it can impact nature and the animals around us, as well as our local waterways. Especially for our downstream drinking water neighbors,” she says.
She takes her role, which she has been in for six years, in maintaining the city’s compliance with multiple organizations like the EPA and Department of Natural Resources very seriously. More so, she is looking out for everyone in the area.
“I am in charge of making sure we as a city are in compliance with Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System Permits,” she says. “I also am our floodplain administrator, so I make sure that we are abiding by FEMA’s floodplain regulations.”
The Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System Permit, also known as MS4, is issued through the Federal Clean Water Act to reduce discharges of pollutants in stormwater to streams and rivers. In addition to this, the MS4 permit helps regulate construction sites to ensure they do not have sediment running off their site.
“Sediment is one of, if not the biggest water pollutant in the United States,” Colleen says. “So, we try to make sure we’re stopping that from entering our waterways as well as our storm sewer system or our combined sewer system.”
The Northeast Parkway Wetlands is a large project Colleen has had a role in over the years. If you are unfamiliar with the wetlands, it is essentially a retaining pond which collects stormwater from the surrounding area and holds on to it to let the sediment and pollutants settle out of it, before draining it into Corby Pond.
“There is a solar panel and it is hooked up to weather alerts. It'll get a weather alert if there is a rain event coming in, it'll lower the water level in the pond, increase the holding capacity in it, it will shut the valve as the rain event comes in,” she says. “It captures about 200 acres of drainage from this residential area.”
To learn more about the Northeast Parkway Wetlands, visit https://bit.ly/4fp1H5Q.
Every person is capable of making a change in their community. The rules implemented are not to hinder you but to help preserve our environment and to keep our city in compliance with the MS4 permit. Colleen stresses the importance of keeping the ground free of litter, picking up after your pets and planting native plants to help pollinators.
“It takes each and every one of us to be in compliance,” she says. “Making sure that we are doing what we need to as a city to decrease that pollution and those wastes from going into our local waterways.”
Along with working to help build a better community through her work, Colleen also enjoys working alongside those throughout the City of St. Joseph organization.
“Do it, it's fun. You learn a lot. I learned through working with the city that there is so much that goes into each and every decision that is made as a part of a municipality and it impacts so many different moving parts and pieces,” she says. “I love working for the city and I highly recommend it. You meet a lot of wonderful people.”
If working to help maintain the environment in and around St. Joseph or other jobs within the city are of interest to you, check out the current employment opportunities by visiting https://www.stjosephmo.gov/1017/Jobs.
