Sewer Rate Increase Includes Ballwin-Ellisville; MSD to Explain on Thursday

Flushing the toilet is going up in price.

With sewer bills to climb 64 percent by 2016 for Ballwin and Ellisville customers, the commission that sets the fees is coming to Chesterfield City Hall Thursday, 6 p.m. to listen to residents and answer questions.

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

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

Our sewer system apparently has some sections that are wooden and date back to before the Civil War, 1850—not up to current clean water standards. The district covers 525 square miles.

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 is scheduled to be on hand at Thursday's hearing to go over basic facts of a 64 percent hike in sewer bills, and Rate Commission staff will be there taking notes.

A proposal to raise fees for storm water sewers (not waste water) is still in court on appeal by the sewer district against the State of Missouri. It's unclear how much that would cost residents.

Why the hike?

• Regulatory requirements—laws that protect clean water that didn't exist in 1850, or even 1957 when the district formed.
• Increased use of debt—sewer district borrowed previously.
• Loss of customer base—population dropped in the district, both residential and commercial, as the 2010 Census showed.
• Declining water usage—we conserve more water (a good thing) which bites into sewer district revenue because it's billed by how much we use (so the price goes up.) 
• Economic conditions—sewer district says customers are having trouble paying their bills.

The sewer district says you have a right to be heard, and voice your opinion on the rate increase. "The Rate Commission invites you to attend one of five upcoming public hearings."*

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 Chesterfield) 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.