Editor’s note: This story is Part Three of a continuing series on Jefferson County’s sewer problems.
Part 3 (Published April 11)
By Steve Taylor
For the Leader
Clyde Pratt says he looks to the north for a good model of how to run things as the Jefferson County Public Sewer District pursues its goal of bringing public sewers to the thousands of county residents who currently rely on failing septic systems.
Pratt, chairman of the county sewer board, believes the 34-year-old Northeast Public Sewer District is doing a top-notch job of addressing sewer needs in its segment of the county.
The district serves about 12,100 customers in 45 square miles covering part of unincorporated Arnold, the Jefferson County portion of Fenton and parts of High Ridge.
"They’re a pretty good outfit," Pratt said. "They provide lots of good service. They’re organized and they’re getting the job done. That’s the main thing. They’re giving their customers quality service at the lowest possible rates. I’d like to see us (the county sewer district) emulate a lot of their qualities."
Jerry Rogers, a longtime member of the five-member board that governs the Northeast district, agrees.
"I don’t want to sound like I’m bragging, but I would consider our district to be a hidden gem," he said.
Jeffrey Doss, executive director of the district, said he’s heartened by Pratt’s comments.
"I’m glad to hear it," he said. "We’ve been through a lot since we were founded in 1979. It’s taken more than 30 years to get to the point we’re at now."
The district’s operations are funded by user fees rather than taxes, and its board is appointed by the Jefferson County Council, rather than elected.
"They (the county sewer district) are in the spot that we were in in 1979, when we took over three private sewer companies," Doss said. "We didn’t have a lot of employees or expertise. It was a very slow start."
Tip No. 1 – hire the right people
Doss advised Pratt and other officials working toward a countywide effort to hire wisely.
"I would tell them to invest in good people," Doss said. "That’s how we got to where we are now. If you hire good people as you need them, you have a chance to get to where we are in 20 to 30 years."
Doss said Northeast has 23 full-time workers and one part-time employee.
"There is a perception of the kind of people who work at a sewer plant," he said, "and it’s grossly misinformed. Our people are highly educated, highly dedicated people, from the guys going out and driving the trucks to the guys cleaning out the lines. And we’ve taught them to think to spend money like it’s coming out of their pockets."
Doss, 48, who was hired by the district in 1999 as an engineer as it was transitioning from contract to in-house management, has led the district for the last 10 years.
"He knows a lot about what’s going on," Pratt said of Doss. "That district is about as organized as it can be."
Springdale plant treats raw sewage biologically, uses UV rays to disinfect
Under Doss’ leadership, the district is in the midst of a building and modernization program.
Northeast operates 11 wastewater treatment plants, including a large, state-of-the-art plant in Springdale, the Saline Creek Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility, which treats raw sewage biologically rather than with chemicals. The treated water is disinfected by UV radiation.
That plant is operating at about half of its capacity, so there’s lots of room for growth, Doss said, and the plant was designed to accommodate even further expansion as needed.
The Saline Creek Regional facility also has a laboratory that allows the district to run tests of its water on site.
New sewer line will allow subdivisions to tap on
Northeast has received a $12 million loan through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources that involves building a main sewer line from Hwy. 141 in Fenton to High Ridge along Saline Creek and Hwy. 30.
Once the line is in place, Doss said, seven of the smaller wastewater treatment plants and pump stations can be eliminated and the sewage will be treated at the main Saline Creek plant in Springdale. The line also will help prevent stormwater from getting into the system, which will make the operation more efficient, he said.
Doss concedes that the plans will not add any more homes to the system immediately, but it will allow more homes to hook up in the future. About 20 percent of the homes and businesses in the district are currently customers.
"It will open up existing subdivisions that currently don’t have access to sewers," he said.
Doss says new headquarters replaced cramped facilities
Doss said the district’s headquarters at 1041 Gravois Road, which is a little more than two years old, also was designed with the future in mind.
He bristles at critics who have dismissed the new building, which has 5,000 square feet of office space and 15,000 of shop and maintenance space, as a "Taj Mahal."
The $2 million building was financed through a 1999 bond issue, which also will pay off the loan from the DNR.
"This is the first, the last and the only (district-owned) building that we’re ever going to have," Doss said.
The administrative part of the building replaces cramped, leased offices in the Biltmore Plaza, Hwy. 30 at Northwest Boulevard.
"It was very small. Our conference room was also a board room, lunch room and file storage room. It was wholly inadequate for a good, purposeful use," Doss said.
The new offices have room to add employees as the district grows, he noted.
Worse than the offices, he said, was the district’s old maintenance shed, which was located near the treatment plant in Springdale. That building, he said, basically a pole barn, was less than 12,000 square feet and had to house all the district’s vehicles as well as 17 employees.
"The worst part is it was next to the Saline Creek in the flood plain," Doss said. "When we would have a storm, we’d never know whether we could get to the building. Our managers would have to show up with boots to wade into the building.
"There would be times that they’d lay out plans on a desk and leave for the day and overnight, it would rain and the next day, the plans would be soaked by the leaks in the roof. We spent a lot of our manpower cleaning up stuff, repairing damage and replacing equipment that was ruined. It was not a safe place to work in."
Doss said the district’s critics are off-base.
"What they don’t tell you is that prior to 2012, we hadn’t had a rate increase in 5 1/2 years," he said. "I really haven’t heard a lot of people come to our window and complain about our new building, but I have heard a few compliments."
Doss credited the district’s Board of Directors with providing long-term leadership. Three of the five members have overseen the district’s operations for at least eight years.
"I can’t emphasize how important our board has been," Doss said. "We are lucky to have these five people. They try to stay educated, and we keep them informed. Some go to conferences and seminars. The fact that the board is stable has helped. In this business, the rules and regulations change constantly, and if you have to try to describe these things to people who have no idea what’s going on, it would be difficult."
County sewer district aspires to growth
So far, the Jefferson County Public Sewer District has taken over sewer systems at six county subdivisions in the unincorporated area, but aims to expand that list through a court-approved reorganization that provides new powers to set up sewer improvement areas and pay for sewer improvements.
Under the reorganization, residents in an area that needs sewage service can vote to organize; a four-sevenths majority is needed.
Once that happens, the sewer district can sell revenue bonds to finance improvements.
Then, residents in the sewer improvement areas would make payments to the sewer district, which would use those funds to pay off the bond debt, Pratt said.
As part of the process, the newly organized areas would become a part of the sewer district.
Today’s list of subdivisions under the sewer district umbrella includes Raintree Plantation subdivision in the Hillsboro area, the Mirasol subdivision just south of Eureka, Brookside Park and Sandy Branch neighborhoods in the Goldman area, the Falls at Little Creek west of Festus and Sunrise Acres in Cedar Hill.
But Pratt hopes more and more subdivisions and areas will undertake projects and come into the sewer district in years to come.
Each additional service area will subtract from the estimated 1.6 billion gallons of raw sewage illegally released in Jefferson County each year.
"Ultimately, the goal of the county is to put it (sewer service) all under one entity, like MSD (the Metropolitan Sewer District in St. Louis and St. Louis County)," Pratt said.
He dreams of that day, and of a realistic chance at emulating the success story of the Northeast Public Sewer District.
