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Director Addresses City Council

By Carol Arnett

The Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) gave an update on the flooded basement issue to the Florissant City Council at Monday night’s meeting. Brian Hoelscher, executive director and CEO of MSD, spoke to the council.

“I just want to give a quick status report on the impact of the rains, not just last month but 16 months ago, and some of the things the residents have been going through with water in their basements,” he said.

“MSD is under a consent decree. This consent decree is a legal agreement with a federal judge to resolve issues in our wastewater system,” Hoelscher said. “The main issue we need to address is called Project Clear. It’s to remove groundwater and storm water from the waste water system. It’s causing overflows and backups in people’s basements. Storm water and groundwater do not belong in the wastewater systems. Only waste water is supposed to go down the system.”

Several cities across the country are dealing with this issue, Hoelscher said. Some cities are asking residents to solve problems themselves. Another option, he said, is that any groundwater that goes into the system is treated for free.

The last option was to participate on the issue with the public, he said. “That is what MSD is doing,” he said. “The very first thing we want to do tonight is make staff available on the second floor to make sure we have correct data.”

“MSD is in the process of teaming up with city staff to figure out a way to work with residents to deal with the problem. It is a problem with private property, but we are involved,” Hoelscher said.

There are three areas where residents

have similar issues, Hoelscher said. “There are also other residents not in these areas, and we will talk to them,” he said.

Hoelscher said that residents could help with the problem by using downspouts correctly. “In some cases, they are draining right into the foundation,” he said.

Councilman Jeff Caputa asked if MSD was also working on storm water floods. Hoelscher said they are working on them as part of Proposition S, passed a year ago.

Mayor Tom Schneider thanked Hoelscher for working with the city. “Working together to solve problems is much more effective than pointing fingers,” he said.

Several residents spoke after Hoelscher. Some argued that they should not be blamed for the problem. Several also pointed out that this was a recent problem.

“I can’t sell my house,” said Bill Haley. He said he bought the house in 1999. If he wanted to sell it, he would legally have to disclose any flooding issues. “Who is going to buy a house if the basement floods on a regular basis?” he asked.

Several of the residents said that the flooding has happened several times. One described having 16 inches of sewage in the basement. Another described a 12-inch geyser of sewage coming out of his toilet. They said the clean-up was a long process, and most of their possessions were lost. Some also mentioned the health risks of cleaning up raw sewage.

Tasia Bank said she was speaking on behalf of her mother, who lives on Parker Road, who was hospitalized due to the mold problem in her home caused by the flooding. Bank said she had to take her mother out of the home after the last flooding. She added that they were just finishing repairs from 2015 when the latest flood hit. And her mother’s new neighbors moved in and found water in their basement.

For the Project Clear website: www.projectclearstl.org/

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