AFFTON, Mo. – Affton residents on Hannover Street are getting slammed repeatedly by flooding. They contacted FOX 2 to get answers about whether a buyout is in their future.
“In the current situation, we have a ceiling, if you will, qualification level of $3.7 million in damages before FEMA ever comes into play,” said St. Louis County Councilman Ernie Trakas. “We never reached that this time, so federal funds are not an option for the county to apply for or create an avenue for residents to apply for to affect buyouts. That’s main reason is there’s no money for buyout.”
Homeowners are not too thrilled about that.
“I would have loved a buyout. They’ve tried every other fix, and I don’t know what else it could be,” said Susie Reuter.
Trakas said the county government stepped up with dumpsters and emergency workers when the last big flood hit. However, he said had another idea.
“Let’s take a look at MSD. Why are they routinely rejecting claims for assistance for reimbursement for repairs? Trakas said. “What have you because they claim it’s an act of God, of course, that’s it, but the question is where’s their responsibility. They’re responsible for the sewer system, they’re responsible for water runoff; why aren’t they addressing the situation.”
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) released the following statement:
“While MSD is neither a flood control agency nor a floodplain administrator, and therefore not responsible for managing the floodplain, we could be one part of a regional approach to solving problems like this should voters want us to.”
Currently, homeowners living on Hannover Street cannot expect too much help from MSD at the moment. However, that could change in the future. MSD is working on putting a measure on next April’s ballot asking voters to give the agency money to help residents with flooding issues.
A public hearing on the MSD measure is held at Creve Coeur Government Center on Wednesday at 7 p.m.