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The St. Louis metro area is in the process of undergoing major upgrades to its sewer system. Like many systems across the country that were constructed before separate storm and sewage transport, during heavy rain and storm events in St. Louis, (see Sewer Systems and Wastewater for information on combined sewer systems), stormwater and wastewater from the…

The St. Louis Metropolitan Sewer System transports waste water and storm water for approximately 1.4 million people in a 535-square-mile service area covering St. Louis city and about 80% of St. Louis County. It includes over 9,600 miles of pipe, making it the fourth largest in the United States, with 7 treatment facilities processing 330 million…

MCE advocates for nutrient pollution protections on our lakes, rivers, and streams. MCE settled a lawsuit on 12/7/16 against the USEPA compelling the Agency to develop numeric water quality standards for Missouri lakes by 12/15/17. Read more here. EPA published their draft standards on 12/18/17 which were officially published in the Federal Register on 12/27/2017. They offered two proposals, one…

The Clean Water Act (303(c)(2)(a)) states “water quality standards shall serve the purposes of the [Act] and consider the use and value for public water supplies, propagation of fish and wildlife, recreational, agricultural, industrial and other purposes, and … navigation.” The CWA requires states to develop Water Quality Standards (WQS) for all classified waters. Water…

Every two years, each state is supposed to list all of its streams and lakes that fail to meet water quality standards, along with the pollutants that are causing the impairments. The list (known as the “303(d) list” for the section of the Clean Water Act that requires it) is intended to spur states to…

What are unclassified waters and why are they important? More than forty years after passage of the Clean Water Act, Missouri ’s unclassified waters are not even receiving the minimal protections required by the Act.  Missouri ’s creeks and streams are critical parts of our large river systems. As feeder streams for our big rivers, they…