Dear God, Why Aren’t We Funding the Water Division?

Water is a human right. That’s not an abstract ideal; it is fundamental to a functioning city. It’s what sustains us – our bodies ain’t 75% that for funzies. So, why is St Louis ignoring the people and our needs? As part of the newly introduced Rams Settlement Fund (RSF) bill, the Board has seemingly tried to remedy their pattern of ignoring, but it still won’t save it. In fact, I’d call Board Bill 22’s proposed $30M loan for water infrastructure insultingly minuscule. It’s 20% lower than what was proposed (and failed) two years ago, and costs have only risen since then. The proposal amounts to  less support in the face of growing challenges. It needs more money, and dear god, why are we not giving it to them????

This isn’t a particularly new idea. When surveyed 3-years ago about how to spend the RSF, replacing water mains received the most support. Despite this, nothing happened. Emergency rate increases finally passed in 2024 after 12 years of inaction. In 2025, American Rescue Plan Act funds, that would have otherwise been unspent, got reallocated (being bargained down to $1.2M). Currently, there’s another bill to raise rates and introduce affordability plans for consumers. 

These numbers may sound massive, but this is for the entire City. It’s built for +850K. Not the ~300K we have. Because of the lack of population, we all have to pay more. That shouldn’t fall to the individual consumer, it should fall to the City. Why is Downtown getting +55M and a City-wide project like the Water Division upgrades is getting less? Worse, why is it less than it was supposed to be years ago? 

The two important and distinguishing details about St. Louis’ Water Division are that it’s an “Enterprise Fund” and municipally owned (owned by us). That means it is separate from the city budget’s General Revenue and is funded almost entirely through ratepayers.  Because it’s municipally owned, every dime they receive goes back into the system. The Board of Aldermen sets the rates, but the Water Division isn’t beholden to profits in the same way as Ameren (whose CEO just got an almost 50% raise) or Spire is. The goal is sustainability, not shareholder value.

I can’t overstate how dire the Water Division’s situation is. In recent years, city leaders (most notably First Ward Alderwoman Anne Schweitzer and Ninth Ward Alderman Michael Browning) and the Water Division itself have tried to sound the alarm. During a Public Infrastructure and Utilities meeting in January, Niraj S. Patel, the Water Commissioner of the city notified the Aldermen that they would go through ALL of their reserves by October if no help arrived. 

To be clear, any money given to the Water Department to (forgive the pun) keep it afloat is both essential and welcome. It is this particular iteration in the RSF bill that offers no real support to St. Louisans. It’s structured like a loan and loans have to be repaid. It doesn’t have to be this way. No other part of the bill is like this, it is solely for the Water Division portion. Loans must be repaid, and the $30M loan is due by June 1, 2036. It is “forgivable” in case it remains City owned. Privatization over my dead body but that is where continued inadequate help leads to. The question is, why is it getting shafted?

Rebuilding means addressing the foundation first. If we lose our Water Division, housing won’t be habitable, health will suffer, and neighborhoods can’t recover. Investing in water is investing in people.

Joshua Lawrence (he/him) is the founder of STL PoliticClips, a free civic service that summarizes and publicizes the goings‑on of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen. The project includes the digital preservation of local history and management of the Riverfront Times Database. Income shouldn’t determine access. For more information: www.JoshuaLawrence.Fun.