This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, March 23, 2009 - The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, which covers all of the city of St. Louis and roughly 80 percent of St. Louis County, is embarking on what district officials are calling "one of the largest public infrastructure programs in our area's history."
The multibillion-dollar initiative, called the Clean Rivers Healthy Community program, is intended to improve water quality by decreasing the amount of sewage that flows into regional rivers, creeks and streams from sewers during moderate to heavy rainstorms. The project will last several decades.In determining how to address federal and state mandates to clean up the waterways, the district is looking for public input. The district is hosting 11 open houses across the region, beginning Thursday and running through April 16, in which people can suggest solutions, as well as learn about possible projects and the estimated costs. (Here's a hint: Your monthly sewer bill is likely to quadruple over time.)
In preparation for the open houses, here's a primer that will help you get down and dirty.
Why the need for an infrastructure overhaul?
The St. Louis Sewer District came about in the 1950s to take over public stormwater and waste management in a limited geographic area. Since then it has taken over 79 separate sewer districts. Counting just pipes that handle waste water, St. Louis has the fourth-largest sewer system in the country.
Some sewers in the city were built as long ago as the late 1800s. There's significantly less green space in the region now as there was when the system was constructed. More buildings and concrete surfaces mean an increased amount of sewage and other runoff that goes into the system -- and eventually bodies of water.
All this is to say that St. Louis has a complex and old sewer system that is in need of modernization, according to Lance LeComb, a spokesman for the district.
What exactly is the environmental problem?
The Clean Rivers program is working to prevent different kinds of overflows, but the open houses will focus on what are called combined sewer overflows.
According to the district, each year about 13 billion gallons of mixed wastewater and stormwater are discharged from these combined sewer systems into the Mississippi River and its tributaries. These overflows take place when lots of rain falls in a short period of time, and they often overwhelm the aging sewer system.
To avoid flooded streets and basements, the system releases excess sewage and rainwater into nearby bodies of water. Sewer overflows mean bacteria, hazardous chemicals and other pollutants are released into rivers and streams.
There will always be storms that overwhelm the system, according to the district. The initiative is about reducing the amount of sewage that enters waterways, and getting residents to think about how to promote environmentally friendly practices.
What are some options to help alleviate the overflows?
One option, LeComb said, is to separate the combined sewers. But it would be costly. "That probably won't happen in anyone's lifetime," he said. Removing all combined sewer overflows would mean tearing up roads and alleys across the region and even reconfiguring plumbing in many homes and businesses.
That's why there's an emphasis on meeting federal and state regulations by reducing the number and frequency of combined sewer overflows -- something the district has already started doing.
The initiative will likely involve projects such as increasing local treatment plant capacity and building deep tunnels or storage facilities to hold stormwater during rainfalls. Other options include installation of rain gardens and replacement of concrete surfaces with green space.
LeComb said final decisions will made based on cost, environmental benefits and construction impacts.
What's the timetable for this project? What are the financial costs?
It's likely to take more than 20 years -- though the district says it can't know for sure until it's decided exactly what the projects involve.
LeComb said the projects will likely cost between $4 billion and $6 billion (in today's dollars) by the time the initiative is through. How the costs will be borne hasn't yet been determined, but residents will likely foot much of the bill.
Right now, according to LeComb, the average single-family home in the St. Louis region has a monthly sewer bill of $25. Over the next decade or more, these construction projects will cause customers' bills to jump to about $100.
"There's no doubt about the future cost," LeComb said. "The question is how quickly the costs will rise."
Why such a dramatic increase? LeComb said it goes back to the large size of the sewer system and the comparatively small number of area residents, all of whom will share in the cost of repairing the system.
It's unclear whether costs would ever go back down after the major projects are finished and just basic maintenance work is needed. LeComb said many cities are bracing for similar cost increases.
"A lot of people have jumped right to the cost, which is a natural reaction and a function of the times we live in right now," he said. "Cost is important, but having overflows is not a good thing. We really need to step up and protect the public's safety. There's no doing it on the cheap."
What kind of public input is being sought?
The district is developing final recommendations for action, and LeComb said officials want to know where to spend money and how to prioritize projects. The open houses are the way for residents to share their thoughts.
People who attend the events will see what different projects would involve, how much they would cost and what their environmental impact would be. LeComb said the district is looking for both verbal feedback and asking people to fill out surveys.
Some of the questions include whether the projects should focus first on decreasing overflow for one river or work on all bodies of water at once. Do you go with deep tunnels or focus more on expanding treatment plants? What type of green building is necessary for these projects?
"We're looking for honest, robust feedback," he said. "This is an investment of such a magnitude and duration, and we can't pretend to know what's on the public's mind."