Shovels Hit Bevo Mill Mud As MSD Launches First Prop S Flood Fix

The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District has finally started moving dirt in Bevo Mill, breaking ground this week on the first stormwater project paid for by Proposition S. The Ulena work site is the opening test case for the new program, aimed squarely at chronic backyard and street flooding. Crews are set to install roughly 150 feet of new stormwater pipe to push extra runoff away from yards, streets and homes, a welcome sight for neighbors who have spent years watching garages and lawns fill up after heavy rains.

According to MSD Project Clear, the Ulena Storm Improvements will install about 150 feet of 18-inch stormwater sewer, carry a roughly $170,000 price tag and use an open-cut construction method. Work is slated to begin in spring 2026 and is expected to take about five to six months. The district warns the project may require temporary lane closures on Walsh Street and access to private yards for easements, with disturbed areas restored when construction is finished. Inspectors will be on site during active work, and the contractor is required to return properties to a like-for-like condition.

"We have more than 500 identified across the region and every day we’re identifying more," Jay Hoskins, MSD's assistant director of engineering, said as the district turned dirt on the Ulena project. Local coverage notes the Ulena job is only the opening move in a much longer game. Crews will finish the Bevo Mill work and then shift to projects in other municipalities, including Ballwin. As reported by KMOV, officials said the lag between voter approval and actual construction was tied to when new property tax collections began.

Proposition S, approved by voters in April 2024, created the region’s first dedicated stormwater program and, MSD says, will help the district start chipping away at more than $700 million of known flooding and erosion problems across St. Louis City and County. The measure is funded by a small property tax and an impervious-surface fee on nonresidential properties, and the district estimates the average homeowner will pay about $25 a year. Per MSD Project Clear, the program also sets up a municipal stormwater grant fund that sends money directly to cities and villages for fixes they identify themselves.

Neighborhood advocates are greeting the long-awaited work with cautious optimism. "The project aims to create a better place for residents," one resident told St. Louis Public Radio. MSD Project Clear says other Prop S projects will roll out in the coming months and years as the agency works through its list of priorities.

What Residents Should Expect

Homes and streets along the construction route can expect to see heavy equipment, short-term driveway access limits and the usual construction noise during active hours. Residents are supposed to receive advance notice before any work takes place on private property. Most interruptions are expected to be brief, with the contractor required to maintain at least one lane of traffic and place plates or temporary surfaces over trenches outside working hours. Once crews finish installing the pipe, the district says it will restore yards and pavement to meet local standards.

While the Ulena project is small in scope, officials say it matters because it serves as the template for hundreds of neighborhood-scale fixes that are stacked up behind it. The district cautions that the work will be phased and will take years to complete. As St. Louis Public Radio reports, MSD estimates that finishing the full slate of identified stormwater projects will be a multi-decade effort, so residents should expect steady, incremental repairs rather than a single, system-wide overhaul.