Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Anyone for a swim?

Waterways in the U.S. are supposed to be fishable and swimmable....

...and environmentalists have sued to have the Clean Water Act enforced in Missouri. One solution is to disinfect MSD's sewage effluent that flows into Missouri streams, including the Mississippi River and the River Des Peres.

However, the Executive Director of MSD is concerned that spending capital improvement dollars to disinfect sewer effluent will divert funds already earmarked to correct basement sewer backups, which continue to plague parts of MSD's 150 year-old system.

Anyone for a swim in the River Des Peres?

1 comment:

Michael R. Allen said...

Fixing the sewer backup problem -- a long overdue project -- has great environmental benefits. People should not live in filth, even if only occasionally -- it causes health problems and building abandonment in addition to grief. MSD needs to finish that project before working onm the quality of water released into the River Des Peres.

That said, improving the River Des Peres should remain a major goal for MSD and for regional planners. The end goal should be putting a flow back into the poor ol' river. The improvements being made to the banks right now are an important step -- some areas are looking great these days.