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MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. – The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) Project Clear (PC) is responding to force main break in Maryland Heights.

MSD contractors are working to repair the broken force main. The break was discovered Saturday afternoon near John Pellet Court and Hog Hollow Road. Repair crews were mobilized and repair work is now underway. 

Some pump stations upstream of the break will have to be temporarily shut down to allow for repairs. Shutting down the pump stations increases the likelihood of wastewater overflows in the vicinity.

Areas potentially affected include: • Caulks Creek, in a wooded area west of Crystal Spring Drive • Bonhomme Creek, along the Monarch Chesterfield Levee trail behind Chesterfield Commons •
Other portions of Bonhomme Creek around I-64.

While the pump stations are shut down, MSDPC will use Vactor trucks and storage tanks to minimize any potential overflows. 

The repairs are expected to be completed around midweek. Once complete, cleanup and disinfection needs will be addressed. Sewer service will not be impacted. 

Warning signs have been posted in the area, advising the public of the overflow. While there is no immediate threat to public health or safety, everyone is asked to avoid physical contact with Bonhomme and Caulks Creeks the next few days. Anyone who comes in contact with wastewater should immediately and thoroughly wash with soap and water. A force main is a sewer line that uses pumps to transport wastewater. Pumps and force mains are necessary when gravity alone is not enough to move wastewater through flat areas or over hills to a wastewater treatment plant.

An MSDPC contractor is currently in the process of replacing a 3.5-mile section of this particular force main. That project is scheduled to wrap up in early 2023. MSDPC has reported the break to The Missouri Department of Natural Resources.