The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District may overhaul Grantwood Village’s stormwater infrastructure.
The Grantwood Village Board of Trustees told residents at its Sept. 20 meeting that MSD could send a proposal to the village in the near future that would outline the necessary steps for the public utility company to address the town’s public pipes and pipes on residents’ property, and that MSD is “committed to improving stormwater infrastructure in the village.”
MSD oversees stormwater and wastewater management in both St. Louis County and St. Louis city.
“We really have a remarkable collaboration here of all of the stakeholders. We talked about the water flows within Grantwood Village down to Gravois Creek, we talked about the water that comes from Crestwood across the historic site,” Public Works Commissioner Mark Kienstra said, referring to the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site. “We think we have an understanding of principle where MSD is going to offer to take over the stormwater infrastructure in the public right-of-way.”
Kienstra said each homeowner would have to talk to MSD and handle their stormwater separately — the residents are not required to grant their infrastructure to MSD. Building Commissioner Kurt Voss said granting MSD an easement is “good for the entire village” and they are no different than power or water easements already in place.
Kienstra said usually MSD would require the pipes to be brought up to current standards before taking them over, but has made an exception since Grantwood can’t update its infrastructure. After the agreement and inspections are done, MSD may have to replace certain pipes across the village.
“This is a really unique opportunity. MSD did not have to do that, they could have stuck with their current guidelines. It’s a testament to their collaboration,” Kienstra said.
According to Kienstra, Grantwood Village likes to collaborate with public utility companies such as MSD and Ameren on when utility companies may be doing work on their infrastructure to make sure no village projects overlap with utility company projects. This is to ensure, for example, that the village does not do something such as street repairs and upgrades only for a utility company to have to come tear up the street for their own projects shortly after.
Several citizens were in attendance at the meeting, and while they liked the idea overall, they had questions about when construction could start becoming a reality in the village. The answer could rely on the deal MSD will eventually send the trustees. The board hopes to have the proposal in hand at its next meeting Oct. 18.
