Projects | City of St. Louis

Administration

In accordance with Ordinance #71683; Updated May 1, 2026.

The funding for these projects has come through the Water Division’s revenues.

Water Rate Sufficiency Study – Completed
- This study evaluates 5 years of historical financial data for revenues and expenses to determine if water rates are sufficient to cover the full cost to operate the Water Division
- The study address solvency, bond covenants such as reserve fund balances and debt service coverage ratios, and capital renewal project costs based on the Water Division’s CIP.
- Consultant – total cost $50K
Water Master Plan – In Progress
- The Comprehensive Water Master Plan is designed to evaluate and enhance the city’s water utility infrastructure and long-term operational strategy.
- The project includes developing water demand projections through the year 2045, performing visual condition and resiliency assessments of the Howard Bend and Chain of Rocks treatment facilities as well as a condition assessment of the Distribution system and water mains focused on pipeline risk modeling and leak monitoring programs.
- The scope covers a 20-year regulatory compliance strategy for the Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water Acts.
- The project will produce a prioritized Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) with detailed cost estimates and a 10-year financial plan to analyze rate impacts and identify potential federal, state, and local funding sources.
- Consultant – estimated cost $1.275M

Comprehensive Water Master Plan

On June 04, 2025 Niraj S. Patel P.E., Director of Public Utilities, issued a Notice to Proceed to HDR Engineering Inc. authorizing work defined in PSA 1296 – Comprehensive Water Master Plan for the City of St. Louis Water Division.

This project will deliver a detailed, long-term strategy that assesses and plans for improvements to the treatment plants and the distribution system to ensure the long-term sustainability, reliability, and resilience of the entire drinking water system. Recognizing the complexity of modern water utility management, this plan will be developed through a structured, collaborative, and data-driven approach, employing a series of focused tasks and interactive workshops. The report generated will provide a roadmap for infrastructure improvements with cost estimates and capital investment prioritization. Project completion is anticipated within twelve months from the date of the Notice to Proceed.

Read more about our Capital Improvement Projects (CIP):

Power & Pumping

Chain of Rocks Substation Repairs – In Progress
- The substation is in poor condition, with bushing failures and a transformer leak
- Filter oil in transformers, regasket leaking transformer, and replace bushings
- City Water and Contractor – total cost $89k
Refurbish CR Distributive pumping unit #1 – Completed
- The pump is 65 years old and had a mechanical failure
- Rebuild and replace pump rotating assembly and upgraded instrumentation
- City Water and Contractor – total cost $110K
Refurbish CR Distributive pumping unit #3 – In Progress
- The pump is 65 years old and had a mechanical failure
- Replace pump rotating assembly and upgraded instrumentation
- City Water and Contractor – estimated cost $65k
Refurbish HB High Service pumping unit #11 – Completed
- The pump is 55 years old and was becoming inefficient and unreliable
- Replace rotating assembly and bearings, refurbish discharge cone valve
- Design, fabricated and install new access platform
- City Water and Contractor – total cost $220K
Replacement and Installation of CR Coagulant Building Carbon Mixer – Completed
- The equipment is over 20 years old and had a mechanical failure
- Replaced carbon mixer and cover plate over the carbon pit
- City Water and Contractor – total cost $90K
Cleaning of the South Weir Wall on Basin #6 – Completed
- The south weir wall on Basin #6 was obstructed and not allowing water to flow freely through the weirs
- Removed built up scaling from all weirs
- City Water and Contractor – total cost $60K
Refurbish HB Intake well #2 – In Progress
- The equipment is over 50 years old and had a mechanical failure
- Replaced screen machine super-structure and rotating equipment
- Replaced 1 separator gate actuator
- City Water and Contractor – estimated cost $455K
SCADA upgrades for pumping units at both Plants – In Progress
- This project improves monitoring of aging pumping infrastructure
- Installing electrical, communication, PLCs, instrumentation
- City Water and Contractor – estimated cost $150K
Replacement of Stacy Park Roof Expansion Panels – In Progress
- Re-designed to improve performance of expansion joint panels
- Replaced damaged expansion panels to protect the reservoir
- City Water and Contractor – estimated cost $160K
CR Flow meter work – In Progress
- Refurbish 4 flowmeters in CR Distributive Pump Station
- City Water and Contractor – estimated cost $50K
Howard Bend Substation Reliability Testing – Completed
- 34,500 volt electrical equipment has been increasingly unreliable, causing power disruptions to the treatment plant
- Extensive electrical testing and evaluation is being performed
- Contractor – total cost $170K
Howard Bend Substation Switch Replacements – In Progress
- 34,500 volt gang operated switches are unreliable and have had mechanical failures
- Contractor – estimated cost $300K
Howard Bend Sludge House Transformer Relocation – Completed
- The sludge houses at Howard Bend have electrical equipment below grade that is damaged during flooding
- This project relocates electrical equipment to protect it during extreme weather events
- Contractor – total cost $60K

Supply & Purifying

Replace 480V Automatic Transfer Switch at CR Chlorine Building – In Progress
- Existing ATS has failed and replacement parts are no longer available
- City Water and Contractor – total cost $70k
Refurbished Chlorine Equipment @ both Plants – In Progress
- Rebuilt all evaporators, chlorinators, and general overhaul of all equipment and appurtenances to ensure safety and reliability of this critical system
- Replaced all chlorine hoses for transfer from cylinders
- City Water – estimated cost $95K
Replace Chlorine Evaporator at CR Plant – In Progress
- The existing evaporator is past its service life and general parts for the old units are hard to come by
- City Water – estimated cost $25K
Replace 2 Chlorine Evaporators at HB Plant – In Progress
- The existing evaporator is past its service life and general parts for the old units are hard to come by
- City Water – estimated cost $50K
Reline Fluoride Tank #2 at HB Filter Plant – In Progress
- The existing tank has been out of service due to liner being compromised
- Contractor to reline tank so we will have two tanks
- City Water and Contractor – estimated cost $105K
Refurbished 2 filters @ HB Filter Plant (program) – Completed
- Replaced filter media
- City Water and Contractor – total cost $83K
Refurbish 2 filter @ CR Filter Plant – Completed
- City Water – total cost $90K
Purchased Filter Valves in the HB Filter Plant – Completed
- Purchased from 18” and 24” in Pipe Gallery
- Contractor – total cost $115K
Replaced Filter Valves in the HB Filter Plant – Completed
- Existing valves needing replacement were unreliable due to age
- Replaced valves from 18” and 24” in Pipe Gallery
- Contractor – total cost $266K
New Lime Feed Pump @ CR Coagulant House with VFD – Completed
- Improved performance and efficiency and reduced operating cost
- City Water and Contractor – total cost $55K
Dehumidifier for CR Softening Basin Complex – In Progress
- Existing unit failed due to age and needs replacement to protect assets in pipe and valve gallery
- Contractor – estimated cost $70K
Replace HB Coagulant House 480-Volt Bus Duct – In Progress
- Improved performance and efficiency and reduced operating cost
- City Water and Contractor – total cost $110K
HB Chlorine Building Large Door Replacements (12 total) – Completed
- Existing doors need replacement due to age and corrosion damage
- Contractor – total cost $130K

Construction & Maintenance

Replaced the CR Head House Roof – Completed
- Includes repairing the fascia for the Screen House
- Contractor – total cost $90K
Repair the CR Basin #8 East Wall Concrete – In Progress
- Repair deteriorated concrete and replace existing handrail
- Contractor – estimated cost $225K

Laboratory

Installed New ICP-MS – Completed
- This equipment will support meeting increased compliance for Lead and Copper Rule Improvements testing
- Contractor – total cost $150K

Transmission & Distribution

Macklind & Oakland 48” Valve Replacement and Vault Reconstruction – Completed
- Existing valve was repaired and placed back into service
- Contractor – total cost $130K
Clayton & Oakland 36” Valve Replacement – In Progress
- Existing valve has failed and needs to be replaced to restore operability
- Contractor – estimated cost $400K
Clayton Ave. & Hampton Ave. 36” Valve Replacement – In Progress
- Existing valve has failed and needs to be replaced to restore operability
- Contractor – estimated cost $400K
Clayton & Big Bend 60” Water Main Repair – Completed
- A stretch of 80 feet of deteriorated 60-inch piping was removed and replaced.
- Contractor – total cost $1.46M
Sanford and Villa Main Replacement – In Progress
- Replacement of approximately 350 feet of 6-inch distribution main
- In-house – estimated cost $110k
Semple Avenue Main Replacement – In Progress
- Replacement of approximately 1,500 feet of 8 and 10 inch water main from Bircher to the limits of the railroad
- Contractor – estimated cost $500k
Keokuk and Alexander Main Replacement – In Progress
- Replacement of approximately 2,000 feet of 6 and 8 inch water main from Keokuk to Meramec on Alexander and from Bamberger to Alexander on Keokuk
- Contractor – estimated cost $575k
Weber Road Water Main Replacement – In Progress
- Replacement of approximately 1,500 feet of 6 and 12 inch water main on Weber Road from Morganford to Weimar, including replacements on Ketmore and Weimar
- Contractor – estimated cost $500k

Meter, Tap, & Customer Service

Water Meter Replacement Project – In Progress
- Replaces obsolete water meters to improve accuracy and reliability
- Improves customer experience w/ upgrade to Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI)
- Reduces labor costs to manually read water meters
- ~ 11,100 of 16,500 water meters upgraded
- Contractor – Total Cost to date – $12.2M ($2.5 in FY26)

IT/OT Administration

Legacy Hardware Replacement – In Progress
- Replacement of core network switching hardware at the Kingshighway
- Administrative Offices – total cost $70K
Cybersecurity Incident Response Plan – In Progress
- Creation of a customized cybersecurity incident response plan (CIRP) for The Water Division.
- Purchase of hardware, software and tools to strengthen security posture and support CIRP. Contractor – estimated cost $160K Grant Funding
Pilot a “Digital Twin” software system – In Progress
- Deploying a production-grade, standalone system within a secure AWS environment to serve the St. Louis Water Division with AI and machine-learning models to accurately detect and localize main breaks (plus affected area) using SCADA, GIS, and customer complaints data, reducing detection time and improving maintenance planning.
- The system will operationalize capabilities by enabling:
  - Realtime rapid main break detection and localization for faster water advisories;
  - Predictive insights into pipes and mains at risk of failure;
  - Data-driven situational awareness for operational decision-makers.
- Contractor/STL Water staff – estimated pilot cost – $50K

City of St. Louis Capital Projects

Updated May 1, 2025.

Rehabilitation of the River intake at the Chain of Rocks Water Treatment Plant – $12,000,000.00
The Chain of Rocks draws water from the Mississippi River through an intake on the Western shores of the river. The intake is approximately 100 years old making its operation challenging. While some repairs have been completed additional work needs to be done. This funding would complete the renovations to the intake.
60” Riveted Steel Main and Line Valves Replacement – $8,000,000.00
This water main is critical to the operation and resilience of the water distribution system and is at the end of its useful life. It needs to be replaced along with several 48” line valves.
Hampton Ave. Water Main Replacement/Rehabilitation – $6,000,000.00
The 36” water main in Hampton Ave. has proven to be unreliable and has been taken out of service. This project would install a liner inside of the existing pipe restoring it to a useful condition. Restoring this water main will increase our distribution system resiliency in emergency situations. These large diameter water mains are utilized to move water across our distribution system. Design for this work is partly completed.
Substation/Power Distribution Upgrades at Both of the City’s Two Water Treatment Plants – $8,000,000.00
This would involve rewinding transformers, replacing switches w/ remote operators, MCC upgrades, and switchgear upgrades. The treatment plants receive electrical service at a high voltage to reduce costs. The electrical substations step down the voltage so that it can be utilized by the plant’s equipment and protect against damage due to faults and electrical system failures. The substations are 50+ years old and their components are starting to fail. Emergency repairs continue to put a strain on our resources. Design for this work would need to be performed.
Replacement of Pumps, Motors and Controls – $40,000,000.00
The raw water and finished water pumps at the City’s two water treatment plants are 50+ years old. This project would replace several of them. This can be broken down into smaller projects spreading out the total costs over time.
Small Diameter Water Main Replacements – $150,000,000.00
There are approximately 1,300 miles of water mains spread throughout the City. The water mains that serve our neighborhoods are typically 6” or 8” in diameter providing water service to residential customers. The water mains that will be replaced are those that have been failing resulting in the interruption of service to our customers. The number of water mains replaced can be matched to the available funds.
Vacated Lawton Place and Teachers Dr. Water Main Rehabilitation – $1,500,000.00
The 20” water main at this location is becoming increasingly unreliable. This project would install a liner inside the water main to renew it. Lining a water main restores the water main to a “new” condition without the costs and disruption of digging up an old water main and replacing it.
Condition Assessment of Transmission Conduits – $5,000,000.00
These three conduits transmit water from the Howard Bend Water Treatment Plant to the City limits. They are critical for the utility operations and their condition needs to be assessed. The Howard Bend Plant is approximately 17 miles from the city limits. These conduits are 6 feet in diameter ranging in age from 50 to 100 years old and transmit tens of millions of gallons per day. One example of a failure of these conduits caused flooding of Interstate 64 / Highway 40 and ripple effects such as water pressure issues in City neighborhoods.
Howard Bend Water Treatment Plant Electrical Relocation – $2,000,000.00
This project involves replacing a portion of the treatment plant’s electrical power feed lines which run through a failing/abandoned facility. All of the electricity powering the plant is transmitted through these lines, which makes them critical to the plant’s operations. These lines are starting to have issues and should be relocated and replaced.
Rehabilitation of a Softening Basin at the Chain of Rocks Water Treatment Plant – $3,000,000.00
This facility serves to soften our source water at the head of the treatment process and is a critical step in producing high quality water for our citizens. The mechanical components of this facility are in need of rehabilitation to continue reliable service.
Rehabilitation of the Chain of Rocks Filter Plant Underdrains – $10,000,000.00
The Chain of Rocks Filter Plant was once the largest rapid sand facility of its kind when it was built 111 years ago. It is in need of major rehabilitation or replacement. The failing underdrain systems are increasingly more difficult to rebuild, and a new system needs to be installed in order to restore performance.
Emergency backup power at our system’s two water treatment plants – $30,000,000.00
This project would install electrical generators at the two treatment plants to meet the minimum electrical needs of the plants in an emergency. The Water Division has seen an increase in interruptions of electrical service to the Water Division’s water treatment plants due to storms and tornadoes. In addition, the duration of electrical service outages has increased. Emergency backup power will increase the resiliency and security of the City’s water supply since water cannot be treated or pumped to our customers without electricity.
Comprehensive Water Master Plan – $1,300,000
This project will evaluate and assess water infrastructure at both of our Water Treatment Plants and in the Distribution System and project demand forecasts for the next 20 years to assess the adequacy of system capacity to meet those demands. It will review our regulatory compliance and develop strategies to meet current and future rules or requirements and evaluate risks and cost implications. It will provide a prioritized capital renewal project list and plan with cost estimates and review finances and funding to evaluate the Water Division’s current financial standing, the rate making process, and develop future rate scenarios based on the capital renewal plan. Lastly, it will provide technical memorandums and reports for both internal and external use and support the Water Division in engagement with various stakeholders in the community.