Early Thursday morning the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District’s (MSD) Grand Glaize wastewater treatment plant in Valley Park was shutdown as flood waters breached a sandbag levee built to protect the plant. The plant is located near the intersection of Marshall Road and 10th Street, and services Valley Park and areas in western St. Louis County. The plant is designed to treat 21 million gallons of wastewater per day.
At roughly 6 a.m. the sandbag levee was breached, forcing MSD to shut down the plant and the pump station to prevent serious damage and potential injury. MSD crews evacuated safely. Parts of the plant are currently under water.
Prior to the Grand Glaize event, MSD was already using all its resources to address flooding in its entire service area. Now, MSD is also locating and mobilizing external resources to provide temporary pumps in an effort to mitigate the immediate impact of the Grand Glaize event. Once water recedes from the Grand Glaize plant, MSD’s top priorities are to restore the permanent pumping capacity and to minimize basement backups and overflows.
Sewage normally treated at MSD’s Grand Glaize Treatment Plant is not being treated at this time. Sewage is being diverted into nearby rivers and streams. The public is asked to avoid contact with any floodwater or sewage in low lying flooded areas near the plant. If anyone should come into contact with floodwater or sewage in this area, they should thoroughly wash with soap and water.
MSD will continue to inform the public as information becomes available. Residents are asked to call (314) 768-6260 if they experience a basement backup or observe a sewer overflow.
MSD has reported the sewage overflow to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, as required by law.