It has been a long, hard winter, but temperatures are rising, the last of the snow piles have melted away, and the days are growing longer. As the traditional adage alludes, spring rains will soon bring our area’s parks, gardens, and other green spaces alive with colorful flowers and plants. Here at MSD though, we also know that these rains can bring more than Mother Nature’s awakening – they can bring basement backups and overland flooding. In the past few years alone, we have seen several storms that have dumped several inches of rain on our community in a matter of minutes. What has MSD done to handle these storms? When it comes to basement backups, we have:
- Invested over $2.5 billion over the past 20 years in our wastewater system;
- Established an aggressive sewer-cleaning program that has dramatically cut the number of basement backups during typical storms;
- Instituted the use of backflow devices to help prevent chronic basement backups.
In short, we are using every tool available to help prevent basement backups. And will continue to do so through Project Clear – MSD’s $4.7 billion, 23-year initiative to improve water quality and address sewer overflows and basement backups throughout the St. Louis region. When a basement backup does occur, MSD has insurance programs that help customers recover from the resulting damage. (As these programs are limited, MSD always recommends that basement backup insurance be added to standard homeowners or renters insurance.) Though MSD can never completely guarantee that a basement backup will not occur, we are striving to ensure they are as rare as possible. What about overland flooding? Overland flooding is a different issue all together and is not related to MSD’s sewer system. The St. Louis region is rich in water resources, with three large rivers bordering MSD’s service area. Everyone is well aware of how the Mississippi, Missouri, and Meramec rivers can become swollen and flood low-lying areas. However, and often overlooked, are the host of smaller creeks, streams, and other waterways that permeate our community. Any of these waterways can quickly fill with rainwater, jump their banks, and cause flooding in the surrounding area. Even small neighborhood creeks, with little history of flooding, can threaten area homes and businesses during heavy rains. This is called overland flooding and it can occur anywhere. Overland flooding can also occur in areas where there are no nearby waterways. That’s because rain water is channeled via a natural floodway to distant waterways or nearby stormwater systems. MSD doesn’t manage overland flooding, nor do we cover overland flooding under any of our insurance programs. The fact of the matter is we all live in flood zones and all of us can be subjected to overland flowing. We encourage customers to protect themselves accordingly. MSD has partnered with the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) to launch the “Know Your Zone” awareness and education campaign. “Know Your Zone” is designed to increase flood zone awareness and encourage enrollment in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The campaign runs through June 30th and will utilize Metro Transit signs, billboards, radio, the internet, targeted neighborhood canvassing, grassroots events, and social media to reach the public. This type of campaign is different for MSD. But too many have suffered from not being properly educated about overland flooding, the risks, and the need for insurance. Through “Know Your Zone”, we hope to begin a meaningful change for our St. Louis community.