Most MSD Project Clear customers pay their wastewater bills. But when some—in particular businesses with large unpaid balances—don’t pay, the cost of providing service doesn’t go away. Instead, it shifts to everyone else.
Today, many customers—including businesses— are operating without having paid for wastewater services for years. This chronic nonpayment can lead to higher rates for paying customers and makes it harder to keep future increases as small as possible. Addressing it is an important step toward keeping rates fair — and that’s why we use a range of tools to help resolve unpaid bills.
As a nonprofit public utility, every dollar MSD Project Clear collects goes to operating, maintaining, and improving the public wastewater system. When some customers don’t pay their share, others are forced to make up the difference.
The Problem: Unpaid Bills Hurt Everyone
When a customer doesn’t pay, the cost of providing services doesn’t go away. Instead, it’s passed along to the rest of the region’s customers. In some cases, including with many commercial businesses, wastewater bills have gone unpaid for years.
To protect customers who do pay and keep future rate increases as small as possible, MSD Project Clear has historically relied on a range of collection tools that includes payment plans, liens, collection agencies, and legal action.
As of 2025, severely delinquent accounts total more than $122 million, and the payment rate has fallen below 97%. Additionally, MSD Project Clear is spending as much as $8.6 million annually to collect unpaid wastewater bills.
The Plan: Last-Resort Shutoffs
To help keep rates fair, MSD Project Clear is implementing a last-resort shutoff policy for chronic nonpayment beginning in Fall 2026. MSDPC will start by working with commercial accounts that have large, long-standing unpaid balances and have ignored repeated attempts to setup a payment plan.
Shutoffs will always be a last resort, only after multiple efforts to contact the customer and offers of assistance have failed. No customer who participates in a manageable payment plan will be shut off. MSD Project Clear will prioritize support, working with customers to setup a payment plan and enroll eligible residential customers in the Customer Assistance Program, which can reduce past-due and future bills by 50% for qualifying seniors, low-income, and disabled customers.
The Process: How It Works
- Customers will be notified of past-due balances and of potential Customer Assistance Program eligibility after approximately one month.
- When the delinquent amount exceeds $350, a lien may be placed on the property, allowing MSDPC to collect the delinquent amount when the property is sold.
- If a customer refuses outreach, the process of shutting off the property’s water could begin after approximately four months.
- Collection efforts are handed over to a collection firm.
- Further legal remedies are considered.
There will always be multiple notices and offers of help before shutoffs are considered. The approach is designed to encourage early engagement so debts don’t become unmanageable. Customers who participate in a manageable payment plan will NOT be shut off.
Our Promise: Support Comes First
MSD Project Clear’s goal is to keep every customer connected, especially those who need help. That’s why we offer:
- Flexible payment plans: Work with us to spread out overdue balances in a way that fits your budget.
- Early outreach: The sooner we connect, the more options we can offer.
- Customer Assistance Program (CAP): Qualifying low-income, senior, and disabled households can have both current and past due bills reduced by half.
Bottom line: Shutoff is a last resort, never a first step. Customers who work with us to set up and maintain a payment plan will NOT be shut off.
Have questions or need help? Learn more about assistance programs and payment options: Contact MSD Project Clear via email at billingquest@stlmsd.com or by calling 866-281-5737.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
MSD Project Clear will begin with delinquent commercial accounts, not residential customers. This phased approach allows us to introduce the policy carefully and to focus first on accounts with typically higher outstanding debt and potentially greater capacity to pay.
No. Shutoffs will be used only as a last resort. Customers who communicate with MSD Project Clear and participate in a payment plan will not be shut off. The intent is to encourage engagement and resolution, not to penalize customers who are making good-faith efforts to pay.
The cost of operating and maintaining the public wastewater system is the same, even if customers don’t pay their bills. Over time, unpaid balances place greater financial pressure on the system, which can lead to higher rates for customers who do pay. Allowing shutoffs as an option helps reduce this burden and promotes a fair system.
Over decades of operation, MSD Project Clear has accumulated a very large amount of unpaid debt from delinquent accounts. Adding shutoffs as an option helps us recover a portion of those unpaid bills. This can reduce the financial burden on customers who consistently pay their bills and can help reduce the size of future rate increases for everyone.
As a not-for-profit public utility, MSD Project Clear does not operate to generate profit. Revenue is used solely for the actual cost of operating, maintaining, and improving the public wastewater system.
Currently, customers who pay their bills are effectively covering costs for those who do not. Shutoffs introduce a fair-share approach, ensuring everyone contributes to the cost of wastewater services we all rely on. This helps distribute costs fairly across the region.
Yes. Allowing balances to grow unchecked can create unsustainable and stressful debt that becomes harder for customers to repay over time. Earlier intervention encourages customers to address issues before balances become unmanageable.
MSD Project Clear is one of the only utilities in the region—and among very few wastewater utilities nationwide—that has not historically shutoff service for nonpayment. Instead, we have relied on collections, legal judgments, and property liens. Adding shutoffs will bring MSD’s policy in line with industry standards used by most utilities.
Because MSD Project Clear has not historically shut off service, it has relied on property liens to recover unpaid balances. Reducing the need for liens could resolve delinquent accounts earlier and with fewer long-term consequences for property owners.
MSD Project Clear currently spends millions of dollars each year attempting to collect unpaid accounts. Adding shutoffs as an option could help lower long-term collection costs, allowing more resources to be directed toward system improvements and customer services instead of prolonged collection efforts.
MSD Project Clear offers a Customer Assistance Program that can significantly reduce both current and past-due bills for qualifying households. However, many eligible customers are unaware of the program. Shutoff notices can prompt contact, allowing MSDPC to connect more customers with the financial assistance they already qualify for.