Funding & Financing Across Sectors and Scales�Panel

Monday, May 5, 2025

11:00-12:15pm

Concurrent Session

MSD St. Louis �Funding

Jenna Jarvis, PE

4^TH

LARGEST SYSTEM IN THE U.S.

1.3 MILLION

CUSTOMERS

520

SQUARE MILE SERVICE AREA

87

MUNICIPALITIES

Green Infrastructure Grants

• Pilot Program began in 2011
• Constructed MSD owned rain gardens from 2011-2015, then switched to grants
• Large Grants are offered in the Combined Sewer Overflow region of St. Louis at a rate of $180,000/acre drainage area treated
• Small Grants are offered to homeowners at a rate of $4,000 per homeowner or $10,000 for a business or non-profit
• Spend $120 million on green infrastructure by 2034 to meet EPA agreement goal, which must reduce CSO by 98 MG annually
• Funded from our General Fund from rate payers
• To date, we’ve spent $66.6 million for 366 acres treated, for an estimated 81 MG of CSO reduced to the Mississippi River

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New Stormwater Tax

Prop S Passed April 2024

• Voters approved a property tax rate to solve stormwater issues in the region
• Large businesses are charged based on impervious area
• Began collecting in January 2025 and over 700 projects are planned
• 50% Critical Funds, 30% Municipal Grant Fund, 10% Environmental Justice Fund, 10% Regional Priorities Fund
• Streambank stabilization, buyouts in floodplains, improving drainage, other storm-water related expenses as determined appropriate (could include GSI)

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• Community Block Grant Disaster Relief Fund provided to City of St. Louis to mitigate flooding, and must tie to 2022 flood problems
• A consultant was selected for regional watershed planning
• A different consultant was selected to provide green infrastructure and flood resiliency on ten affected sites ($10 million)

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Other St. Louis GI

Thank You!

Financing GSI�in Grand Rapids

Funding Limitations:�

• No Stormwater Utility
• Separated Sanitary Sewers
• General Fund Battles

DRIVING FACTORS

• Stormwater Violation
• Transformation Funds

DEDICATED STORMWATER

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FUNDING

Stormwater Utility Considerations

Audubon Circle (Fenway)

Why Establish a Stormwater Utility (Fee)?

• Managing stormwater is expensive - Stormwater Utilities create a designated funding source that ensures better stormwater management - and more GI!
• Funds for stormwater management often come from less predictible and equitable sources:
• General Fund: very competitive, hard to compete with schools and emergency services
• Sewer Fee: properties that use more water/sewer disproportionately bear the burden
• Stormwater Utilities (fee, credit & grant programs) incentivize GI and increase implementation by employing both a “carrot” and “stick” approach

What Are Your Goals?

Goals should determine the structure of the utility:

• Revenue Generation
• Ample and defensible rate structure
• Clearly articulated penalties for non-payment
• Consider a buffer to cover non-payment
• Assistance from the Public
• Easily navigated Credit Program
• Rates high enough to make applying for credits appealing to property owners
• Municipality-Wide Behavior Change Around GI
• Generous Credit and Grant Programs
• Resources and application support

Seaport Boulevard (Seaport)

Basis for Stormwater Utility

Depending on your state’s Enabling Legislation, Stormwater Fees can be assessed in several ways:

• Based on impervious cover (most common)
• Equivalent Residential Unit
• Fee per square foot
• Tiered
• Based on land use type
• Uses methodology similar to TMDLs
• Often used in county or watershed-based utilities
• Based on volume contribution to a combined sewer
• Metered “sewer” flows, less water usage
• Particularly valuable where CSOs are an issue

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Nubian Square (Roxbury)

Basis for Stormwater Utility | Ex: Impervious ERU

• Fee is based on square feet of impervious cover (roofs, driveways, parking lots, etc.)
• Fee uses a billing unit, called an Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU)
• ERU = average sqft of impervious on a residential property (Boston = 2,164 sqft)
• Rate is determined by the total revenue required to manage stormwater
• Rate = total required revenue/total ERUs in Boston
• Rate = $8.98 per ERU per month
• Fee = # of ERUs x Rate
• Residential (1-6 family) = 1 ERU x Rate = Fee
• Non-Residential = #ERUs x Rate = Fee

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Other Considerations

• Fees for municipal, state, federal properties?
• Fees for properties with NPDES permits?
• Provide relief for elderly/low-income customers?
• Credit Program:
• Self-certification or utility review?
• Set a max credit?
• Provide credits/grants to support resilience goals
• e.g. maintaining mature trees

Central Square (East Boston)

Powering Green Infrastructure

on Private Property

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2025

Rainplan is a software and services platform that helps install more green infrastructure�on private property.�

• Expand the Reach of 6000+ �Stormwater utilities�
• Drive Action & Adoption of GSI�
• Measure Performance &�Compliance�
• Fill Gaps in the Private �Retrofit Marketplace

Coverage Map

💸 Attract Private Capital�Attract private capital. “Infrastructure funds on the sidelines”

📏 Set Clear, Predictable Rules� Establish investment-ready guidelines for installation and compliance. ✅

🌎 Expand Your Reach� Access the 70–80% of land where stormwater falls or conservation occurs (landscaping) — beyond public spaces.

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Incentive Programs are your opportunity to:�

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🚨 People Are Interested! Our data shows that residents actively search Rainplan to explore what your program offers. 👀

🛠️ Introducing Our New Tool! Access and view detailed data on any Incentive Program in the Rainplan database.

🤝 Already Have a Program? Great news — we’re already collaborating with you! Let’s keep building on that success.

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LET’S TALK!

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Cooper Martin

cooper@rainplan.com �

Caitlin Lombardi�caitlin@rainplan.com

myrainplan.com

Lake Michigan Funding Resiliency Dashboard

Emerson O’Donnell, Senior Program Manager �WaterNow Alliance�eo@waternow.org

Interactive Walkthrough