I think it is a legitmate surcharge, and it will force all local architects, engineers and designers to eventually do what has been done for several years in California, namely designing wastewater so that it absorbs into the ground and/or serves some other purpose (as a source of lawn sprinklers, etc). During the next several years, we’ll come to realize that the world we were taught to live in no longer exists–a future shock as it were–and among the changes we’ll have to learn to live with include much higher energy costs, higher utility costs, higher food costs, and severe penalties for waste. The days of plenty are probably behind us! We’re soon going to have to learn to live like the Europeans.

WHAT?!?!?!?

I just covered my lawn in Astroturf (so I don’t have to mow it) and I get hit with THIS NEW TAX?!?!?!?!

ARRRRGGGGHHHH!

Oh well…..

all my drains run into my grass and they are still charging the fee, How is that right? what a rip off

How do people think that this is not fair? Don’t you all know that water must have a conduit to reach the rivers and streams. Who do you think maintains these conduits (pipes)? I bet if they were clogged and your homes filled with water you would be calling on MSD. But wait one second how do you think MSD pays for the equipment used to maintain these pipes? Oh thats right under the old rate system they collected .24 cents a month. At todays gas prices and the cost of postage, that .24 cents will get you real far. Come on people let’s be real, quit your complaining. Don’t you think that there are more things out there to spend your time on than crying about your cheapest utility bill. Again let me remind you that if you don’t want MSD to gid rid of the water for you, why don’t you just keep it!

Hmmmmm: Since this doesn’t apply to me, I shouldn’t point out any flaws in thier thinking. A better method would have been to use a hydrologists findings. Would I pay the fee as they ask. Of Course. It would give me standing in court. Then, they would find it necessary to defend their decision, and the methods used. Can they do that? No. This is too funny.

Roof tops cause flooding? Driveways cause flooding? Hilarious. Paved streets cause flooding? Oh, funny, did they make allowances for paved streets causing flooding? Did they deduct that from what they are asking home owners to pay?

This is great. I hope the PD will give us more information on how their decision was made. STRANGE? For sure. Defensable. No.

We have already called to protest our $13.68/month sewer bill and received the form to state our case. While the ‘pervious’ calculation on our property may be close to correct, there is no adjustment for our 4 acres of grass, which absorbs not just runoff from us but much of the runoff from higher land. We plan to bill MSD for this service we have been providing all these years. [We have never received an MSD bill before (other than the surcharge on the property tax bill) and don't believe they will ever do anything with storm water runoff from this area of large lots.]

I have done a fair amount of research on this and talked to several persons at MSD, including LeComb and their CFO. You get lots of different stories. My water run-off goes directly into a creek, 1/4 mile directly to the Mississippi River. My small business bill has gone up from .34 cents/mo to $65.00/month. I’m not great with this math, but I think that is a 195,000 % increase. If gas went up this same percentage, it would be $585.00/per Gallon!!

I am not a big proponent of more government regulation, but industry and utilities that have proven themselves unethical and take advantage of their monopoly positiion, MUST be regulated out of their position of extortion.

The 12 member MSD board of ‘volunteers’ that proposed this rate hike were appointed 6 each by Mayor Slay in the City and by Charles Dooley in the County. These are the only elected officials that can feel the wrath of those irate about these insane increases. These two gentleman need a overwhelming amount of letters and calls expressing frustration at their involvement in this untimely drain on our local economy, and if they do nothing…..then let your votes be heard!

This was also a very stealthy way to squeeze a substantial amount of money out of all our churches who did not pay MSD portions because of their exemption from Real Estate Taxes. (I guess some MORE private schools and churches will be closing their doors forever)

This whole thing is just plain unAmerican. We had no real influence in this whole process. (Our opportunities over the last year to show up at vaguely described public meetings for MSD rate increases was not ever intended to be influenced substantially by the public) If MSD had been honest and told people and businesses that their Stormwater bills could increase 200 fold if their proposals succeeded….there would have been riots and outrage…..but meetings for utility rate increases is so common now, we’d all have to quit our jobs to attend all these public hearings)

email info@charliedooley.com phone 615-7016
email mayorslay@mayorslay.com phone 534-2005

Peg. Don’t back away from your position. Based on what you stated, you are on solid ground…errrrr, on ground that absorbs water. If the city built a sewer system that was inadequate to provide a discharge for sewage, and rainwater, that is not your fault.

Have they figured out yet that excess ran, more than the soil can absorb, usually flows downhill?

Let them sue the hydrological engineers and the civil engineers. for a flaw in the design of, and the construction of their sewage system or the contractors who put in the the conduits and made them too small.

Their reasoning is beyond belief.

OK…where is all this new money going? Why does River Des Peres and all the local creeks still look like toxic waste dumps? If we are paying more, we want to see more improvements and not bigger checks to the MSD executives and stock holders.

MSD is once again using strong arm tactics. Those who don’t have MSD should not be billed for this. We should be allowed to continue to pay this on our real estate bills at the rates we’ve been charged with modest increases acceptable. Our bill is 500% more than what we paid on our real estate taxes and according to MSD will increase another 2 1/2 times by the time it reaches its max. MSD said they tried to contact those on septic systems to let them know about this, but had difficulity getting the information. It’s amazing how they suddenly found our name to send us a bill. They held public meetings, but why would we attend a public hearing on MSD rates when we don’t even have MSD. We don’t intend to pay the bill and hope others on septic systems do the same. We all need to band together to fight this. Even those with MSD should fight the unfair increases for the storm water fee or simply not pay it. MSD should be forced back to the bargining table to establish more equitable billing. Call or write your county council person, the county executive, the mayor, your state representative and your state senator. The more who do this will help. Also plan to attend the next public portion of the MSD meeting which I believe is the first Thursday of June. The info is on their website. We have one word for MSD spoken by an American soldier during the Battle of the Bulge and that word in “NUTS”.

I have lived in a rural area of north St. Louis county for 21 years. We also have 3 acres with a septic tank. Our “run-off” goes directly into the ground far from storm sewers–what storm sewers? There are no storm sewers out here. Isn’t it funny how MSD can fly over my home and map it so I am charged for my roof, my sidewalk, my driveway, etc. I hate paying a tax for other homes while I get nothing for the money. We get nothing from St. Louis County including no snow removal either. THIS IS WRONG!!! Freedom? what’s that?
Mrs.K

This is how my calls to MSD went: Me-Hi, I’m calling to find out what MSD is providing me with this $1000/yr increase. MSD- We need this increase to maintain our systems and prevent your home from flooding. Me-but you don’t have pipes near me, my water goes into a creek and into the river. MSD-well we maintain the creeks. Me-What work have you done on my creeks? MSD-well, probably nothing,we just send out guys to walk the creeks occasionally but your money supports systems other areas that DO have MSD system. Me-can I put in a retention pond and avoid this bill? MSD- NO. Me-All my gutters go into cisterns on my property, can I be credited for this? MSD-NO, but I believe their is a credit if you have a GRASS ROOF! (can you believe this?yes, that’s what they said).
Me- Is there anyone I can vote out of office for this mess? MSD-NO. Me-What are the names of the board members who supported this measure? MSD-We can’t give out their names. Me-Well, aren’t you regulated by anyone? MSD-No, we are UNREGULATED.

Not all water that is applied to land finds it’s way to creeks and streams. The land itself will retain and use plenty of it, by watering plants, evaporation, etc. So the problem isn’t having areas that don’t absorb water (like roofs, driveways and patios) it’s not having enough land to absorb the run off.

Therefore, a more fair way to calculate the fee would be by ratio of runoff to absorption. Take the typical 0.25 acre lot, with 4000 sq. ft. of run off (home, driveway, sidewalk, patio, etc) – 36.7% of that land is blocked from absorbing and using water. Take a person in the sticks with a 4.0 acre lot. Even if they have 10,000 sq. ft. of run off (house, barn, shed, etc) – they still have only 5.7% of the land blocked from using water. The residential home has 6 times less land available to absorb water than the farm – in other words, one is contributing to the run off, the other is absorbing it. But under the current tax scheme, the farm would pay 250% as much as the house!

First off, there needs to be a cutoff for the ratio of land to blockage. If your land is more than 85% clear, you shouldn’t pay – your helping the run off, not hurting it. After that, you should be on a sliding scale: low rates for 75% to 85% clear, a bit more for 65% to 75% clear and a bit more for less than 65% clear. This rate should then be applied to the lot size – as your rate is determined by how blocked your lot is. It sounds complex – but come on – has no on ever heard of data bases, spread sheets and computers? Once this is set up, it’s nearly automatic. And it’s way more fair than the current scheme.

PS – this whole thing reminds me of why regulation is necessary – because in an unregulated market, one player will quickly dominate and then abuse that position. It’s counter intuitive – but true – in order to have truly free markets, there has to be a framework that prevents abuse. Otherwise, the market will only be free until someone captures it.

Am I fuming over new district charges? Why waste my time and energy? You can’t fight the government from taking all of our money, eventually. Our government agencies will not be satisfied until those that go to work hand over their entire paychecks to them. We’ll eventually all (besides the wealthy that the government kowtows to) be handing over about 80 percent of our money to various governments so that they can utilize it to stay in office. We do not have any form of government for the people. What we have is a government of the government, for the government, and by the government.

We used to pay $17/month last year, now we’re paying $23/month… What an inflation.

If they’re gonna add charge according to the size of our lot, why don’t they estimate the number of times I flush my toilet? Sometimes I eat a lot, and I do flush more on the following day!!!

Know what, I’m sure 95% of the new charge will go to MSD executives.

Mark above is so wrong in his comment. Out small subdivision’s drain water runs into common ground (woods) behind our subdivision. MSD does absolutely nothing to maintain this. This is just another example of the arrogant personalities of the MSD board.

This is a true example of a Monopoly having gone wrong. They are claiming that because it rains on our property they should be paid.Some people do receive services from MSD and they pay a pretty penny for it. 8 times more to treat raw water than to treat drinking water. Anyway now they want every property owner to pay reqardless if they recieve services or not.Okay so what happens when they start filtering air and want to charge us for our portion of breathing it. How about us sharing in the cost of earthquake rebuilds because the ground we have helped shake the buildings. The point is they have lost sight of perspective and are now trying to charge as many people as they can get away with. KEEP IN MIND….MSD is a for profit organization and is not owned by any community. They are out for themselves and not the community. I think everyone should get together and start charging MSD for their pipes running through there properties and easements.Look how much money the City of Ballwin would get alone if MSD had to pay for the rental of property. It makes as much sense to charge MSD as it does for MSD to charge for non service.

We got got a $5.00monthly increase for trash recycling and now a $4.88monthly for MSD!! Almost $4.00gallon of gas!! Where is it going to end. As a single mother of 2 small children, just above proverty wages, I cannot afford all of these new mandatory charges. We just barely get by now. I will have to get a second job soon and then I will have extra childcare. The only thing not increasing is MY SALARY!!!!!

MAD ! YES! I live just below Woodson road and with all this rain the rain has comeup thru my basement floor and i have to spend money to pout subpumps in am i billing the state ??NO i deal with wet basement and now the MSD ppl want me to pay them for water that runs in my house NOT IN SEWERS!! i am at top of hill but below woodson road …I SHOULDNT HAVE TO PAY ANYTHING have wrote Jefferson city on this too

My husband & I own 3+ acres of property in unincorporated St. Louis County that is not serviced by MSD in any way (we have septic service & there are no storm drains whatsoever on our portion of the road). The argument that we all benefit from their services as the water eventually gets to their system is a bunch of baloney, as anyone who drives through our area after a heavy rain can see the water that pools in our yards isn’t traveling to their system. It wouldn’t be so bad if they would actually use the money to put storm drains in our area, but I sincerely doubt that will ever happen. I recently heard from an MSD employee that Lambert Airport’s new bill is outrageously high under this new plan. Makes you wonder how this new cost will trickle down to the consumers: will the grocery stores, shopping malls, restaurants, etc., raise their prices to cover this expense? What about our schools? Are they going to be seeking more tax dollars to pay for their increased MSD bills?

As a homeowner with a creek slowly coming up to my backyard, I applaud and support MSD’s effort to get a more logical way of charging people based on their “non-absorbant” square footage. If you can come up with a better way to calculate water run-off, be my guest. But every roof top, driveway, parking lot, etc. is essentially diverting rain water into something at a much higher rate than if it was to simply be absorbed into the ground. The real issue is the speed at which the water attacks. Fast running, high volumes of water cause the most problems. When all of the houses, roadways, parking lots collect and dump huge volumes of water, where do you think it all goes? And who do you think takes care of the things that handle all of this water?

And so when we have drought conditions the second half of 2008, we’ll all be getting refunds right?!?!?

For those in STL county, here is a link that may be helpful in making your concerns known.

http://www.stlouisco.com/elections/ELECTEDOFFICIALS.html

Charging a stormwater rate based on impervious area is something new for our community. This new funding method is meant to provide much needed stormwater services in our area, and to pay for those services in the most equitable and fair manner possible. Obviously, there are a variety of opinions out there on if MSD has taken the right approach, and there remain a number of questions from the public that need answers. For anyone interested in discussing this topic, I’d welcome your phone call or e-mail (314-768-6237 –or– llecomb@stlmsd.com). Or, you can visit our website at http://www.stlmsd.com, where there is an extensive question and answer section on the new stormwater rate. Additionally, MSD’s Executive Director, Jeff Theerman, will be on the Mark Reardon Show on 1120AM KMOX tomorrow (Wednesday, May 14th) during the 2:00PM hour.

We’ve been working hard to get information to the public on the why and how behind the new impervious rate. And we’ll keep working hard and take every phone call that comes our way. I know with some, we may have to agree to disagree, but it’s important that dialogues like this take place in our community.

Lance LeComb
MSD Spokesperson
Phone: (314) 768-6237
E-mail: llecomb@stlmsd.com

Stormwater can be a valuable commodity. Why should MSD get it for free?

My husband and I live in a wonderful area of 7 acres that contains mostly farmland. Like our neighbors, we have never received an MSD bill before and was more than a little upset that we had to pay annual taxes, but we paid it. We have our privately owned septic system…away from the county and we haul our water. I have called MSD and was told it was for rain water runoff. As of December 2007, Missouri approved legislation that allowed for this billing and stopped part of the MSD taxation on the annual property tax. Also, the bill will address the problem of taxing everyone based on square footage of the home and not by taxing everyone the same.

My problem: The service date on our MSD bill is incorrect it states 4-28 THRU 03/31/08. I was told by MSD this is in error because the service dates commenced before the state’s approval of 12/2007 and should include only the month of April 2008. What is the actual service date? Also, why do we have to worry about another bill when we never had an MSD bill before? If MSD can bill us why not tax everyone properly on the property taxes…most people pay their taxes. We did.

I am one of the ones with a septic tank. I have lived in the house for 16 years. I have never used, needed nor will need the services of MSD. They do not maintain the creek that my water runoff goes into. This fee is unfair

MSD snuck this through by proposing to the small group of people that attend local council meetings rather than it being put on a ballot for a vote as a tax.

We live in an area that has no sewers either. We have a septic tank and live in the middle of 3 acres.

I find it funny that MDS calculated how much hard surface we have but can’t produce a watershed map that shows the route our run off takes to get to their treatment center. If they could produce a water shed map and could show me how the water travels to get to them, I might buy into this scam a little easier.

When I spoke to MSD and explained that the run off from several of the homes in the subdivision goes to a creek bed that runs directly to the river. The lady said that MSD maintains the creek bed in our private subdivision as well. Sorry, but wouldn’t the corps of engineers be more likely to maintain creeks? In our case, the creek bed is on private property and I’ve never seen any one maintain it.

My greatest hope is that a class action suite is levied.

Since MSD is claiming responsibility for all of these creeks in all of the watersheds, property owners can appeal to them for service. Brush and washouts obstruct the flow of water in creeks–ask them to maintain or improve the creeks to good drainage standards. Those paying into the system have that right. What else is the extra $12 M going to go to? Directors’ salaries? Not if they have to put it back into the ground.

The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help.
The problem is not that people are taxed too little, the problem is that government spends too much.

Government always finds a need for whatever money it gets.

Government does not solve problems; it subsidizes them.

The government is like a baby’s alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other.

No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth.

-Ronald Reagan
As true today as ever!!

First time blogger, long time laugher!

I used to get free coffee every day for years from the shop next door because the owner was nice. Then one day they actually had the nerve to start charging me $1.50 a cup! That was an infinite percent increase. Are they crazy? I also like telling people that it was an “infinite percent increase” because it sounds so much better than saying they are charging me $1.50.

As a professional engineer, I just love reading about everyone’s knowledge regarding watersheds, imperviousness surfaces, water runoff calculations, percentages, etc. Even simple facts such as MSD having 6 Board members (not 12) aren’t researched at all…they are just thrown out as fact. I don’t pretend to know how to mix hair color, roof a house, teach 1st graders, or drive a bus and because of that, I don’t talk out loud like I’m expert on those subjects.

Yes, Johnny B Good, I’m sure they will consider giving you a refund during a drought as long as you are willing to pay a multiplier when it is rainy!

And yes Butch, I like the idea of you wanting to charge MSD for having public sewer mains running on private property in easements. Perhaps it would be better if you ran your own private line from your house all the way to the Grand Glaize Treatment Plant in Valley Park. I think they would go for that if you’d like.

Thanks for the laughs everyone!

Anyone unhappy with this should attend the next board meeting on the first Thursday in June. There is strength in numbers. Check the MSD website for the time and location. At that time we can work together to see how to best go about challanging this, perhaps through court. In the meantime, send e-mails or call all of your elected officials. Don’t pay your bill until it is resolved.

What’s next? Does this mean that Schools can now start sending out bills to everyone living in their district? Does this mean that the street dept will not begin sending out bills to everyone? Does this mean that Charter Communication can now begin to bill everyone to maintain their infrastructure? Why stop there? Why not have all Senators and Legislatures send a bill to everyone in their district to support their cause? Will we begin getting monthly bills now from the Fire Dept and the Police Depts? Where does it stop? What happen to the line between taxes and “customer” billing?

I DO NOT NOT NOT SUPPORT THIS ACTION BY MSD!!!

This is the purpose for our property taxes to support the public infrastructure! I would be much quicker to support paying an additional bill to support our education system before a Sewer district!! This new addition to our Sewer bill and billing those not currently on the Sewer system is, I believe, wrong! I support what the Sewer Dept is doing, BUT I don’t support HOW it is doing it! It should be presented on our property tax. I may not be using elegant words, but I think you get my point. It’s no wonder I live in the state of “Misery” (MO), next to “Despair” (Des Peres)
If this is the way things are going in Missouri, then I believe Schools should start billing all households in their districts as a way to raise much needed funds to educate our next generation!!

FOOD FOR THOUGHT…

Ever had your Sewer line repaired? Know who pays for the repair? You, the homeowner does, NOT MSD. MSD only maintains the sewer lines once they hit the street.

Taxes currently pay -
- Public School System
- Roads and Highway repair (you, the homeowner repair to the street)
- Public electric (such as street lights and such)

Customer billing -
- Electric - I pay for what I use (Ameren repairs to your house)
- Gas - I pay for what I use (Laclede repairs to your house)
- Water - I pay for what I use
- Telephone - I pay for what I use

Used to be..
- I didn’t have a Sewer bill.
- Then it began if I had city water and it was a set monthly fee.
- Then they joined forces with American Water and bill you based upon your water bill.
- Now they’ve added “water shed” billing to my bill and added 71,000 customers to their customer base. I now pay for what I use and some additional amount to cover the public stormwater run off.

So explain to me why it is against city codes to direct my storm water into the Sewer lines? Seems to me that if I’m paying for this service, shouldn’t I be able to use the service? Yet, I’m not. I can’t run my sump pump through my sewer line because MSD doesn’t want to manage Stormwater run-off.

I have instructed my wife not to pay this.
What can they do shut off my drainage?
Government at its best.
Of course you have the government slug who tells you how good it is.
Please post your government salary and benefits so I can extrapolate the waste from top down.
I say screw MSD, I never voted for this.
Time for new Boston Tea Party when men were men.
If PD reporter was worth their salt they would have looked into what happens if you refuse to pay.
Can these government slugs sue you?
Can they attach your property?
It would be nice to have a paper that is pro taxpayer.
I say to MSD and St. Louis County “FOAD”

I will not pay it, now or ever.

I’m starting to think MSD stands for ‘monetary stormwater disorder’. Hey Lance LeComb….St. Louis doesn’t need therepeutic dialogue with MSD and ventilating our frustrations really does NOTHING pro-active. The people of St. Louis are going to DO something and MSD will be forced to back off from these outrageous increases. I personally like the idea of everyone stopping all payments to MSD or a class-action would be perfect here. There are laws to prevent other businesses from extreme price increases (like on gas stations and high interest loans), why would we allow this from a Utility who has been doing satisfactorily till now with their current revenue.

Mike, the board situation with MSD is confusing and their own staff don’t understand it when I call. The board of 12 or 15 are ‘volunteers from the community appointed by Dooley and Slay and are called the Rate Commission. They report to the Board of Trustees at MSD. (the 6 you refer to). Laughing at the misery of others makes you just as low as the folks at MSD who intend to strangle St. Louis residents. Why don’t you go to the cancer wing at Children’s Hospital and laugh at all the misery there as well. Bite your tongue……..off.

A Rate Commission consisting of fifteen individuals who are either independent or are members of various business and civic groups volunteer to a two-year term to hear rate increase proposals from MSD staff. The Commission reviews the proposals, meets with staff to discuss the rates and the need for the increase and hosts public forums to describe and discuss any proposed rate increases. After their review, the Rate Commission provides a recommendation to the MSD Board of Trustees for final approval.

I’m what most of you would call a Jefferson Co. hoosier….

I’m on my own well with great water and my own drain field.

You couldn’t pay me enough to move north of the Meramec River.

Folks with rain barrels and rain gardens or other biotechnical stormwater controls should be able/allowed to bill MSD in-kind for absorption improvements above their run-off/discharge amounts, or at the minimum have their fee reduced or waived.

Impervious surfaces and piped/channeled conveyances can, and do, contribute to erosion, stream instability, and ecological damage. All of these affect both upstream and downstream property owners. As a general rule, aggravation/enhancement of erosive potential becomes significant when a plot/platte is more than 10% impervious. This includes roofs, gutters, curbs, and roads.

Logically and rationally, if one’s stormwater run-off “footprint” is reduced or enhanced, fees imposed by a quasi-governmental body should follow in-kind; if a property can assimilate more run-off than it generates then a credit is due for the service provided (cf. carbon and other pollutant trading).

From MSD’s FAQ:

“My property is along the Meramec, Mississippi or Missouri River and my storm water flows there, why do I have to pay a storm water charge?

You may be eligible for a 50% Storm Water Discount. An appeal form needs to be completed and returned to MSD for consideration.”

“What if my property is not connected to the MSD sewer system?”

“If your property is not connected to the public sewer system and you are receiving a bill from MSD, you should call the Billing Division at 1-866-281-5737 and provide details about the problem. MSD’s Maintenance Department will verify the residence is not connected to the sewer. Any corrective action will be taken following their investigation for the waste water portion of your bill. You will continue to receive a bill for the storm water service charge.”

http://mkasmtp1.stlmsd.com/MSD/PgmsProjs/SiteFAQ/BillingFAQ#SWWhyChange

If you read my previous message correctly, I was making light of people’s so called “facts” and suggestions that made no sense at all.

I find it appalling that you can even attempt to compare your “misery” of paying $3 a month for the stormwater waste that comes off your property to that of a child with cancer. If the biggest misery in your life is to complain about a $3 a month charge to pay for the stormwater runoff your property generates, then you are one very, very lucky individual.

You’re missing the big picture Mike. People have to pay money to a company that provides them no service on the meaningless basis of pretend imperviousness. I think every lot should have a percolation test done and be charge by the percolation rate. If somebody wants to build cistern, they should get credit for it. And it’s not $3 a month for most people as you appallingly insinuate. Mine is $9.00 a month and will increase to $27 over time - for nothing. MSD took the easy way out on this. If MSD needs more money they should have to prove it to the voters.

Everyone should call MSD and make them prove that MSD’s calculations are correct on their impervious area.

For a different viewpoint on all this, some might want to read the Show Me Institute’s blog: http://www.showmedaily.org/2008/05/gonna-have-to-s.html.

The majority of people posting on this topic seem to have issues with the validity of the new stormwater rate. These are fair points and we’re responding to those concerns as best we can when questions come in. Anyone that disagrees with the validity of the rate is certainly free to take legal action or whatever means they feel necessary. However, the rate complies with all state laws, and is in accordance with the responsibilities MSD has been given over the years. Additionally, MSD’s Rate Commission (which was approved by area voters in November 2000) met twice over the last 14 months to review the new funding structure. This process was publically advertised and the media covered the issue of rates extensively over that timeframe. Unfortunately, the public hearings that are a part of the Rate Commission process and are setup specifically to hear public comments were poorly attended. It’s impossible to say if these comments would have resulted in a different rate structure if they had been made at the public hearings. The point though is that the public needs to take a proactive part in MSD’s efforts to manage wastewater and stormwater issues on behalf of the 1.4 million residents we serve. That is why public hearings are held – to give the public a voice in how we run this organization. We’re not an Ameren or a Laclede, so we don’t have a profit motive. We are a government agency that, based on our best professional judgment, is taking the appropriate steps to manage stormwater and wastewater issues in our community. And we are not faceless bureaucrats – we too live in St. Louis City and County, pay the same rates, and have a vested interest in what happens to our community.

What is being missed in this conversation, when viewed in a broader scope, is the subject infrastructure maintenance. As a nation, we are ignoring the need for infrastructure maintenance and rehabilitation. The steam pipe explosion in New York City and the bridge collapse in Minneapolis, both occurring last summer, are glaring examples of this. On the wastewater side of our business, MSD maintains the 4th largest sewer system in the United States, on par with the one in Los Angeles, California. However, our service area has about a third of the population that is served in LA. This means we have fewer people than we would have if we lived in a different area to support and pay for such a massive system. Beyond just the basic scope of our system, there are ever increasing state and federal regulations we must comply with, which are requiring a decades long, multi-billion dollar program to address.

On the stormwater side of our business, we have a stormwater sewer system that measures almost 3,000 miles and is separate from the sanitary sewer system. All total, our community’s annual stormwater management needs are in the $80 to $85 million range. Under the old stormwater funding structure ($0.24 per month charge to each customer and a variety of property taxes that are now eliminated), we raised about $24 million. (This gets into some arcane details about how the funding was setup, but only about $11-12 million of that figure was available for stormwater sewer maintenance.) The resulting funding gap of about $60 million meant that there were vast stretches of the stormwater sewer system that we could not maintain. Additionally, there are areas where erosion, overland flooding, and other stormwater issues are not just nuisances, but are literally threatening to destroy homes. Just driving around the last several weeks and observing the impact of the rains we have endured, it is clear there are stormwater needs in our community. Under the old funding structure and on an area wide basis, MSD was responsible for just maintaining the sewer system. Over time and under the new funding system, we’ll be able to start addressing the overall scope of the stormwater issues our community has to deal with. It may take years and perhaps decades, but at least we can now move forward with a plan for addressing these issues.

This and my earlier post are not meant to be pithy. Rather, it is meant to let you – the public we serve – know that we have no intention of hiding from these issues or your comments. We take them to heart and utilize this information in what we do. However, we are going to be investing billions of dollars in this community over the next several decades, and MSD will be having a profound, yet unseen impact on our area’s infrastructure. There are going to be times when not everyone agrees on what specific actions/steps need to be undertaken. When those times occur, we have to take what we believe is the responsible action in fulfillng the role we are charged with by our community.

We live in far west St. Louis County on 3 acres. This is a rural area and there are no storm sewers anywhere around here. I felt sorry for the MSD customers that were to be billed for storm sewers and was glad that we are not MSD customers. This is the first I heard that we will be billed. It is not right for them to bill everyone just because it rains on us. This STINKS!!!!

Lance, you AREN’T just an ordinary guy with the same interest as the rest of us. The success of your job performance is gauged by the public’s acceptance of current MSD policy AND MSD employees have an obvious benefit in a huge multi-million dollar increase in their revenues. It would be wonderful if the rest of St. Louis employers could impose mandatory fees on the rest of its residents to increase their profits, benefits, pay structures and job security as well.

Just because MSD has dictated this astronomical increase within the confines of the law DOES NOT mean it is equitable, fair, reasonable, neccesary or in the best interest of St. Louis residents. Just because you had some public meetings, DOES NOT mean that you listened or made reasonable adjustments in your plans. MSD didn’t listen and they don’t care about the public’s opinion……just look at the result.

It sounds like MSD wants to say they need this money to ‘manage’ all of St. Louis’s creeks and streams. Maybe we can look forward to MSD trespassing on all the creeks of property owners and putting unsitely mini River Des Peres trenches on our properties? How about letting us manage our own creeks and streams and runoff? MSD wants to duplicate services that should already be provided by building/subdivision planners, excavators, landscapers and the Army Corp or Engineers. Maybe the police should ticket all those who dump their trash in leaves on the streets/in the sewers and cause occasional stoppages? Where are all these tremendous amounts of homes being threatened because of the erosion and flooding you speak of??? Maybe St. Louis shouldn’t allow home building in flood-prone, normal water run-off areas? The Federal Government even figured that one out.

Maybe MSD should learn to DO MORE WITH LESS, like the rest of us have to do right now! At least Ameren and Laclede are regulated by the Public Service Commission and their increases have been closer to reasonable. MSD on the other hand has done the outrageous because it thinks noone can stop them! Everyone must protest loudly to Dooley and Slay and all our State government!!!

I’m just curious, of the people who claim that they receive no services from MSD and that all the rain falling on their property goes directly into streams and creeks, do you keep the channel clear all the way to the rivers? Do you fully treat the water and check for contaminants prior to releasing it into the river? Will you be held accountable when the EPA comes knocking?

As for where the money will go, MSD doesn’t have enough money to do all the maintenance now. Do you seriously expect free maintenance to justify paying for it in the future? I realize it’s a big jump in the bills, but when was the last time stormwater rates were increased? I suppose there would be less sticker shock if rates increased every year instead of every 20.

Spec (Lance), I’m glad you aren’t in charge of anything important because you make no sense. If any business ever suddenly had a 20 yr. ‘cost adjustment, they would be out of business in a flash. The public cannot afford those kind of increases.

MSD does not treat stormwater as you state and MSD has never trespassed onto my stream beds to do any kind of maintenance. I do my own maintenance and large groups of environmentalist volunteers regularly haul trash out of our streambeds and creeks in this area (hundreds of volunteers were in the Spanish Lake creeks last week doing much more than MSD could ever dream of doing)

If the EPA requirements and results of things such as the Clean Water Act are unreasonable, then we will fix that too. I say we pay for an indep. evaluation of MSD funds, practice and staff and figure out some efficiencies that will accomplish the same goals with a lot less money.

I agree. Don’t pay the StormWater portion of your MSD bills! It used to be called Highway Robbery, now we will have to call it Street Sewer Robbery!

While I sympathize with Rose Dawson, the blog left out the most important part of the so-called tax. The shopping mall owners and their ilk have gotten away with causing major stormwater runoff because of their huge parking lots and roofed areas for years and have payed next to nothing to the sewer district to compensate. Homeowners have taken up the slack up until now. The new system for charging customers is fair inasmuch as the ones causing the storm water run-off are being charged by the square foot. If you add a driveway addition, you’re causing more run-off. Fair is fair.

I do admit, there’s a minor glitch considering some folks are still on septic tanks. Perhaps the district will compensate them somehow but remember, even if they’re on a septic tank, their hard surfaces are still causing additional storm water added to the system.

Maybe someone should ask the people living downstream feel about their bubbling brooks turning into torrents and flooding their basements because some fool build another subdivision or shopping mall upstream.

Jom, till you understand and know what commercial businesses have been paying in their Real Estate Portions for commercial use of MSD (like I do) you cannot say that we have not been paying for our proportionate share of the runoff so that the PUBLIC can use our parking lots and so that we can provide this convenience versus the cheaper option of having them park in a grass lot that would cost us nothing. Why don’t we have the highway and street departments pay MSD since they are the biggest contributor of runoff??? Maybe charge everyone up river as well???

I’ve got it figured out now. I looked up who the six MSD directors are. They are all Democrats. Shocking ain’t it?
Lance baby says its good they don’t have a profit motive. Which means just as the school districts, they will never suck up and cut expenses they will just raise your taxes.
Never trust an organization that has to hire a pulic spokesman. You have to wonder if Lance ever held a real job outside of a government.

I submitted the 6th post above, a part of which was in Sunday’s print edition. Several thoughts since I posted it:
First, I meant MSD’s measurement of the ‘impervious’ area. My mind was into the remainder of our lot actually being pervious.
Second, the more I thought about the arguments for this charge — keeping up the infrastructure, etc., I realized it is, as some have said here, actually a tax, not a service. As a tax, it should be computed differently, shoudl be subject to a vote and should not apply to not-for-profit organizations (I heard one church is being charged $75/month — at least until they raise the rates significantly over the next couple of years.)
Third, we learned from a neighbor that Jay Nixon’s office said they should pay the bill but can file a consumer complaint with his office — forms are available by calling the St. Louis Nixon office at 340-6815 or by going to the Attorney General’s office online. I believe you can actually complete the form online.
Fourth — I don’t suggest anyone not pay the bill. That is very risky now that late payment of utility bills can affect your credit rating, which can affect your insurance rates and job possibilities, etc., etc., etc.