Overview
With the passage of Proposition S in April 2024, voters created the first-ever regional stormwater improvement program in the St. Louis region. As part of the Stormwater Improvement Program, municipalities within MSD Project Clear’s service area, including St. Louis City and County, have been allocated grant dollars to help address local flooding and erosion problems.
Eligible Projects
The following types of projects are eligible for funding under the Municipal Stormwater Grant Program:
- Stormwater planning or engineering design
- Construction of stormwater sewers and inlets
- Streambank stabilization and erosion control
- Drainage system improvements
- Floodplain property buyouts or floodproofing measures
- Restoration of flow or storage capacity under bridges or within detention basins
- Floodwall and levee improvements
- Removal of impervious surfaces related to flooding or erosion problems
- Other stormwater-related activities approved by MSD to address drainage, flooding or erosion issues (only work contracted for directly by the recipient is eligible)
Funding cannot be used for MS4 compliance activities, routine maintenance or other staffing costs.
Resources
Questions about the Municipal Stormwater Grant Program should be sent to stormwatergrants@stlmsd.com.
Stormwater Grant Program FAQs
Yes. Using the grant dollars to hire a consultant to develop a Stormwater Master Plan for your municipality is a great place to start.
Yes, a municipality can combine OMCI dollars with grant dollars for projects. However, OMCI dollars can only be spent within the OMCI boundary while grant dollars can be spent anywhere within a municipality.
There is not a specific limit to how long a municipality can bank their grant dollars for future use. The municipality, however, does need to communicate with MSD about their plans and goals for banking the dollars.
The ownership of the property doesn’t affect whether grant dollars can be used. Work for a project can take place on a property owned by a municipality, homeowner, subdivision or business. For example, if a project installs public storm sewers, MSD will take ownership of the sewers upon completion. If the improvements are private, the property owner will maintain ownership. A municipality isn’t required to maintain the improvements built with the grant dollars but will need to manage the contract or complete the work itself.