Project Clear: St. Louis, Missouri demolishes vacant buildings to reduce rainwater inflow to combined sewer systems

December 23, 2015 - Posted in Runoff Control at Four Scales, Site, Success Stories: Implementation of Green Projects in British Columbia and Beyond, Uncategorised

Note to Reader:

The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) is spending billions of dollars to keep sewage out of area waterways as part of a court-ordered agreement. But MSD’s plan involves something one might not expect: demolishing vacant buildings.

Project Clear

MSD Project Clear is a long-term effort by the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD), undertaken as part of an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Missouri Coalition for the Environment.

MSD Project Clear focuses on three categories of work: Get the rain out; Repair and maintain; and Build system improvements.

Get the rain out focuses on preventing excess stormwater from entering the sewer system through a variety of project types, including downspout disconnections, and rainscaping.

Get the Rain Out through “Rainscaping”

Brian Hoelscher, Executive Director of the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD), said his organization will spend up to $US13.5 million to demolish vacant buildings in St. Louis over the next two decades. “We were amazed to find that the building demolitions actually resulted in a large amount of water capture for relatively very few dollars of investment,” he said.

In all, MSD will devote $100 million to “green” infrastructure projects designed to reduce stormwater runoff. These are also described as “rainscaping” projects.

Rainscaping is any combination of plantings, water features, catch basins, permeable pavement, and more that manage stormwater as close as possible to where it falls, rather than moving it someplace else.

The building demolition part of the project will have additional benefits, according to St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay. The city currently spends about $US1 million a year to tear down about 200 condemned buildings. “They are eyesores,” Slay said. “They affect property values. They detract from the fabric of our communities. And they attract crime.”

The green infrastructure investments are one small part of a 23-year, $4.7 billion St. Louis-area sewer upgrade required under a 2012 court-ordered agreement between MSD, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Missouri Coalition for the Environment.

To Learn More:

Visit the Project Clear website: http://www.projectclearstl.org/