Reflecting on Historic Rain One Year Later
Marking the one-year anniversary of last summer's historic rains, numerous media outlets are revisiting the flooding events. Fueled by climate change, intense rains are becoming increasingly more common, making once extraordinary flooding the new normal.
Check out the recent media coverage:
Fox 2 Now - One year later: Historic flooding slams the St. Louis region
St. Louis Public Radio - Flooding across St. Louis to continue if flood risk, climate change isn't taken seriously
KSDK - University City flood victim: 'We are still rebuilding our lives 1 year later'
KMOV - Historic flooding remembered 1 year later
St. Louis Post Dispatch - St. Louis flooded a year ago. Victims demand River Des Peres cleanup, buyouts and more
As the above stories show, these are complex issues, not easy to understand. And while University City has gotten much of the attention, flooding like this is prevalent across the region, largely due to decades-old decisions to construct homes and businesses in recognized floodplains. Addressing this requires sustainable, regional solutions. MSD Project Clear (MSDPC) wants to be part of the solution.
Much of the public's focus on University City has been directed toward debris in the River Des Peres. However, FEMA’s floodplain maps demonstrate that even without debris, flooding would occur due to the intense rainfall. That’s because this neighborhood, like many other neighborhoods in our region, is in a known floodplain.
Floodplains, low-lying areas beside rivers, creeks, and streams (like the neighborhood in University City), are inherently prone to flooding. Historic decisions to build in these areas, combined with more frequent, extreme rain events driven by climate change, have left many homeowners and businesses grappling with recurring, devastating flooding. And there’s only one certain, sustainable solution—buyouts.
MSD cannot participate in buyouts without voter-approved funding and the cooperation of the floodplain manager (typically the local municipality or the County in unincorporated areas). Solving this problem requires cooperation and a sustainable, regional approach.
We at MSDPC want to be part of that solution but currently lack authority or funding. Recognizing the growing problem, we proposed addressing stormwater problems to voters in 2019. Although the decision was close, voters chose not to approve.
But the flooding and erosion problems, like those in University City and other low-lying areas around the region, continue to worsen. The number of stormwater problems reported to us by our customers has increased by nearly 400% in the last decade. That’s why we plan to propose this question to voters again in 2024. If approved, it would cost the average customer in our region $25 per year to fund flooding and erosion solutions. Nearly half of the funds collected could go toward floodplain buyouts, in coordination with municipalities and St. Louis County. They could also be used to leverage federal grants to do even more.
In the meantime, we're listening to customer concerns and taking action within our authority, such as removing large debris from the River Des Peres channel and coordinating with University City on a possible enhanced debris inspection program.
However, FEMA's maps illustrate that despite these actions, flooding in such areas is unavoidable during intense rainfall events, with or without debris. These steps may reduce concerns but will not solve or prevent flooding. We will continue to work toward a sustainable solution.
