Lake Shawnee Campground intentionally free of individual sewer connections

Shawnee County Parks and Recreation has intentionally left the Lake Shawnee Campground without individual sewer connections to discourage long-term stays there, said department spokesman Mike McLaughlin.

He responded to a question a Topeka Capital-Journal reader posed as part of the newspaper’s reader engagement project, ”#TopCity What? You ask. We answer.”

The reader, who asked to remain anonymous, asked: “Why won’t the county put in individual sewer hook-ups at the Lake Shawnee Campground? It’s considered a top 10 fishing lake in Kansas.”

McLaughlin, the parks and recreation department’s marketing and communications director, said the Lake Shawnee Campground is intended to be a short-stay facility accommodating patrons enjoying such activities as fishing trips, short-term getaways or visits to relatives living in the area.

“Campgrounds that are intended for longer stays are more likely to have individual sewer connections,” he said.