Creve Coeur Residents Urged To Give Sewer Feedback

With the cost of sewer use to climb over the next several years for Creve Coeur, the commission that sets the fees is looking for feedback from residents. The nearest opportunity for Creve Coeur residents is Thursday at Chesterfield City Hall at 6 p.m.

The proposed hike in the cost of using waste sewers is in part a result of a court-imposed consent decree between our area's Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

There are some 400 sites throughout the district where sewage mixes with clean water in the event of more water than the sewers can handle. The district proposes nearly $1 billion to fix this. The remaining portion is to pay debt service, or interest on district borrowing.

The area sewer system apparently has some sections that are wooden and date back prior to the Civil War.

How much to flush?

• Rate increase from $28.73 to $47.05 monthly* on an average residential bill between 2012 and 2016. 
• Rates already jumped about $1.50 a month for 2011.

Sewer district staff will be on hand at Thursday's hearing to go over basic facts of a fee increase, and Rate Commission staff will be there to hear any public comment.

A proposal to increase fees for stormwater sewers (rain for example) is still in court in on appeal.

Why the hike?

• Regulatory requirements
• Increased use of debt
• Loss of customer base
• Declining water usage
• Economic conditions

If You Go:

Thurs., Aug. 18, 6 - 9pm

Chesterfield City Hall 
690 Chesterfield Parkway West 63017

Did you know?

• The sewer district covers 80 percent of St. Louis County (including Creve Coeur) and 100 percent of St. Louis City—525 square miles.*
• The sewer district is the 4th largest in the nation behind New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.*
• The district has 9,649 miles of sewers total and seven water treatment plants.*

*This information is drawn from the Metropolitan Sewer District website.