‘Paying for Water They Don’t Use’: St. Louis residents challenge sewer bills

ST. LOUIS (First Alert 4) — There is frustration bubbling over water and sewer bills in St. Louis. Some residents said they’re being charged for water they don’t use, but the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is pushing back, saying the system is fair and even saves customers money.

Water shutoffs are coming back in St. Louis. The city told First Alert 4 that unpaid bills have piled up to $12 million since the pandemic.

Here’s what makes it more complicated: The city actually has two water agencies. The Water Division handles drinking water, while the Metropolitan Sewer District manages waste and stormwater. With most households not on a meter, many residents call the current system unfair — even a rip-off.

Cheryl Glass said Benton Park has changed a lot.

“These homes are magnificent,” Glass shared. “Most of these homes are occupied by one, maybe two people.”

Her block used to house large families or even multiple families under one roof.

From loading the dishwasher, to running the washing machine, to pouring a glass of water — Cheryl told First Alert 4 Investigates that she and thousands of others are paying too much, billed on an estimate instead of actual use.

“I am angry, because St. Louis city unmetered residents pay MSD twice — twice — what metered residents pay. I feel I can prove that,” Glass said.

First Alert 4 Investigates found the bills are based on a formula more than 70 years old. Instead of usage, charges are tied to fixtures — bathrooms, showers, and toilets.

City data shows there are nearly 13,000 metered accounts compared to almost 82,000 without. Cheryl said the difference is costing families thousands.

“Neither of the utilities can tell me how much a metered user in a home similar to mine, occupied by two people, actually pays,” Glass said.

De Laurent owns four properties — three in the county and one in the city.

“I think it’s a rip-off too,” De Laurent said.

He said his smaller city home’s sewer bill is nearly double his larger Brentwood home with a pool.

De Laurent said it’s hitting lower-income city residents the hardest, bringing in millions of extra dollars for MSD, that’s not being used to fix the system.

“It’s hitting lower-income city residents the hardest, bringing in millions of extra dollars for the city — money that’s not being used to fix the system. Over years and years, it’s a lot of money,” De Laurent said.

Retired mechanical engineer Matt Kottraba estimates installing meters for 81,000 households would cost $3,000 per home — about $240 million total. He argues meters are avoided on purpose.

“This thing is a cash cow,” Kottraba explained. “If they were to truly meter most residents in the city, it would be difficult for them to justify charging as much as they do for water and sewer.”

To get answers, I went straight to the top — sitting down with Mayor Cara Spencer.

AMELOTTI: If you meter all these houses tomorrow, do you think water use would match the current estimates, or would it be less?

MAYOR SPENCER: I think it would run the gamut. We know the overall money we’re taking in right now is less than the money it costs to provide water.

Spencer, who previously worked for Consumers Council of Missouri, said sewer fees tied to flat-rate bills are putting a burden on families.

“In fact, most residents pay higher sewer bills than water bills. For many households, it’s a pretty big burden,” Spencer said.

Mayor Spencer said St. Louis water remains among the cheapest in the country, but that’s part of the problem. The Water Division is running in the red, with $12 million in unpaid bills since COVID-19 and major infrastructure challenges. Covering the cost of $240 million in new meters seems unlikely.

“We’re projected to run out of funds in just a couple of years. That would be disastrous. Our water department is one of the most important assets our city has,” Spencer said.

The Metropolitan Sewer District defends its billing system. It said for metered customers, it uses actual winter water use, averaged for the year. For unmetered customers, it relies on attributes like bathrooms and showers to estimate usage.

In an email to First Alert 4, MSD shows the FY 2025 average monthly bill:

• Metered: $61.04
• Unmetered: $67.63

MSD said those numbers prove unmetered bills are not wildly out of line. In fact, rates for unmetered customers dropped about 1% this year. “MSD Project Clear periodically updates estimates, and if a customer installs a water meter, we immediately use that data to set the wastewater bill,” a MSD spokesperson said.

But Glass disagrees and said the so-called savings barely make a difference, while the outdated formula remains the real problem.

“I keep pushing. I keep pushing,” Glass said.

She believes the city could have fixed this decades ago — and says residents have been overbilled more than $500 million since 1992.

“I think it’s time for the city and the water department to really take a look at the rate structure,” Glass shared. “Should people pay for more water than they’re using? Absolutely not.”

She said the next step may be a class-action lawsuit against MSD, and possibly the City of St. Louis if it doesn’t step up.

“Maybe back in 1958, when all of this was established, it made sense. But now that the city’s population is smaller, the burden is too great for residents to keep bearing,” Glass said.

First Alert 4 Investigates also found the city doesn’t even require meters on new construction. Since the Water Division is city-run, it would take action from the Board of Aldermen or the mayor’s office to change that.

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