A $275 million bond issue was placed on the Aug. 5 ballot last week by the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District Board of Trustees.

The board adopted an ordinance Friday morning asking voters to approve the use of $275 million in bonds to reduce wastewater rate increases by 56 percent.

Trustees also approved a report and recommendation of the MSD Rate Commission on a proposal for wastewater and stormwater rates that was submitted to the commission by district staff in January.

In its report, the rate panel recommended using bonds to reduce wastewater charges as well as changes to the implementation schedule for a new impervious stormwater charge. The 2008 rate proposal was an alternative to rates that first were proposed in 2007 and was developed in response to feedback that MSD received from business and community groups late last year.

The proposal first presented to the Rate Commission in 2007 called for a series of increases that would raise wastewater rates 64 percent from 2007 to 2011. Under the alternative 2008 proposal, MSD would use $275 million from the sale of bonds to hold the series of rate increases to 28 percent. If bonds are not approved, the wastewater rate change schedule from the 2007 proposal would go into effect.

Changes in stormwater rates would provide for less dramatic annual increases.

Before March 1, stormwater services were funded by a 24-cent monthly charge on each MSD bill and through a variety of property taxes. MSD now calculates stormwater charges based on the amount of impervious area on each customer’s property.

The new stormwater charge is 12 cents per 100 square feet of impervious area.